Bill Carstanjen

With the track having been put up for sale and with parent company Churchill Downs Inc. failing to commit to a meet after this year's season, Arlington Park's days may be numbered. But there may be a flicker of hope. Mike Campbell, the president of the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, told the TDN that he knows of a number of companies and individuals interested in buying the track and keep it open for racing. "There is interest, for sure, from different parties that wish to keep it just as a...

An earnings conference call with investors Thursday morning underscored that Churchill Downs, Inc. (CDI), intends to sell Arlington International Racecourse near Chicago for "non-horse racing" purposes. The gaming corporation with six Thoroughbred tracks in its portfolio also announced Feb. 25 that the previously halted reconstruction project at Turfway Park has resumed now that a Kentucky bill to legally redefine historical horse race [HHR] gaming has been signed into law. But pandemic-delayed flagship property plans for a hotel, HHR facility, and track amenities expansion at Churchill Downs itself all remain on...

Turfway Park's new grandstand and historical racing machine (HRM) facility won't get built until the state of Kentucky clears up the ambiguity surrounding the apparent illegality of that form of video gambling, which contributes tens of millions of dollars annually to purses in the state. That news was delivered by Bill Carstanjen, chief executive officer of Churchill Downs, Inc. (CDI), in an Oct. 29 third-quarter earnings call with investors. CDI, a gaming corporation with six Thoroughbred tracks in its portfolio, acquired Turfway last year and soon thereafter embarked upon a...

In a first-quarter earnings conference call on Thursday, Bill Carstanjen, the chief executive officer of Churchill Downs, Inc. (CDI), said he was "more than cautiously optimistic" that the Sep. 5 GI Kentucky Derby will proceed as rescheduled, ideally with spectators allowed to attend by adhering to whatever form of COVID-19 social distancing is appropriate at that time. As part of a broader scope of fiscal progress reports, Carstanjen also gave updates on construction projects at the gaming firm's two Thoroughbred racetrack properties in Kentucky, where work is both ongoing and...

Churchill Downs will host a day-long at-home Kentucky Derby party in an effort to raise $2 million for COVID-19 emergency relief efforts. With this season's Kentucky Derby postponed until Sept. 5 due to the coronavirus pandemic, a special broadcast will be aired on NBC May 2, from 3 to 6 p.m. EST. The telecast will feature American Pharoah's 2015 Kentucky Derby in addition to Churchill Downs' first ever virtual horse race--The Kentucky Derby: Triple Crown Showdown, a computer-simulated version of a race. "For many fans around the country, the first...