Churchill Downs Incorporated

The Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission (PHRC) on Tuesday voted to grant Thoroughbred racing dates for 2025 that will feature 150 programs at Parx, 105 at Penn National, and 76 at Presque Isle Downs. Prior to the vote on the dates, however, executives from each track were asked to do something rarely required by racing commissions in this country: Principals from each venue were requested to explain the rationale behind the 2025 takeout rates that accompanied each licensee's dates request. Takeout rates, the per-bet pricing structure that tracks and states impose...

In 1981, Arlington Park's president Joe Joyce created the Arlington Million, a mile-and-a-quarter race on turf intended to raise the focus on Chicago racing. Soon after, in 1983, highly-decorated U.S. Army WWII veteran and businessman Richard L Duchossois purchased the track and substantially raised its profile. At the time, European-based racing connections were mostly strangers to American shores. Aside from the successful exploits of American oil company executive Nelson Bunker Hunt and his illustrious France-based trainer Maurice Zilber, European racehorses had cut little ice Stateside since 1969, the year in...

New Vocations Racehorse Adoption Program celebrated a successful Giving Tuesday, raising over $40,000 for their mission to rehab, retrain, and rehome retired racehorses. Churchill Downs Incorporated, alongside their nine racetrack properties, pledged to match the first $20,000 raised by New Vocations in support of both Thoroughbred and Standardbred aftercare. Over 100 supporters in the equestrian and racing communities rallied together in support of New Vocations' aftercare program. "It was really great to see support come in from so many of our adopters and supporters along with many new contributors via...

The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) has approved temporary licenses for six Churchill Downs Inc. (CDI) properties to begin accepting in-person sports wagers on Thursday, Sept. 7, the company said via a release Wednesday morning. CDI will operate Race and Sports Books at its racetracks and Historical Racing Machine (HRM) facilities in Kentucky which include: Churchill Downs Racetrack: 15 sports betting kiosks, 168 sq. ft. video screen, 20 large format televisions; Derby City Gaming & Hotel: 15 sports betting kiosks, 300 sq. ft. video screen, 12 large format televisions; Ellis...

Churchill Downs Inc. has requested permission from the American Graded Stakes Committee to move the GI Arlington Million S., the GI Beverly D. S. and the GI Secretariat S. to Colonial Downs. The three races were fixtures at Arlington Park before that track closed in 2021. Last year, the Million and the Beverly D. were run at Churchill Downs. The 2023 races are slated to be run on Aug. 12. In November, it was announced that Churchill had acquired the assets of Peninsula Pacific Entertainment LLC, the owners of Colonial...

The 2023 racing dates at Colonial Downs will hold steady at the same 27-program level that the turf-focused track ran this year, but the full first season under the ownership of the gaming company Churchill Downs, Inc. (CDI), will see a shift to Thursday-through-Saturday racing instead of the Virginia track's traditional Monday-through-Wednesday slot. The number of racing dates had been a concern for mid-Atlantic horsemen who were leery about CDI bloating the racing schedule beyond what the region's horse population might be able to sustain. Those concerns were raised back...

Gary Palmisano, Jr. has been promoted to Executive Director of Racing for Churchill Downs Incorporated, the company announced Monday. In this role, CDI says Palmisano will "support and enhance the Company's commitment to the U.S. Thoroughbred racing and breeding industry as well as focus on the implementation of standards and processes outlined in the Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Act" across CDI racing properties. "Gary brings a wealth of varied industry experience that ideally positions him for success in this role," said Bill Mudd, President and Chief Operating Officer at...

Edited Press Release Churchill Downs Incorporated has entered into a multi-year agreement with FanDuel Group involving different facets of FanDuel's sports wagering, advance deposit wagering and television business. Under the Agreement, CDI will provide certain technology and services to enable FanDuel's customers to place pari-mutuel wagers on horse racing via FanDuel's sports wagering and ADW platforms. CDI will also authorize wagering on CDI's owned or controlled horse racing content via FanDuel's platforms in the United States and grant FanDuel certain television and media rights to broadcast CDI-owned racing content on...

Bill Finley's column on the closing of Pompano Park used it as a textbook example of decoupling. And he warned of the possibility of such decoupling not being exclusive to the world of harness racing or other pari-mutuel wagering establishments; that Thoroughbred racing venues are just as vulnerable. Well there was evidence of such, for all to see, in Chicago in 2021. Last June, I became aware of the potentially permanent closing of Arlington Park at the end of its 2021 season. As a 40-year fan of horse racing and...

Churchill Downs, Inc. is set to acquire Colonial Downs, as well as several historical horse racing facilities in the state, after the company announced it has entered into a purchasing agreement to acquire the assets of the Virginia racetrack's owner, Peninsula Pacific Entertainment LLC. A Tuesday morning release from CDI put the value of the deal at $2.485 billion. "This unique set of assets expands our geographic footprint and provides additional scale," said Bill Carstanjen, Chief Executive Officer of CDI. "P2E has done an exceptional job developing and managing this...

Edited Press Release Officials at Churchill Downs Incorporated (CDI) have announced that Nate Simon has been named Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of the company. He will be responsible for providing strategic technology leadership and services. Simon replaces Ben Murr who was promoted to President of TwinSpires and Online Gaming in January. Simon joined CDI in 2011 as Vice President of Operations for the Company's United Tote division before his promotion to President of United Tote in 2012. During that time, Simon was accountable for over 200 employees...

Churchill Downs Incorporated has signed an agreement to sell 115.7 acres of land near Calder Casino for $291 million or approximately $2.5 million per acre. CDI has agreed to sell the land to Link Logistics, one of the premier owners of logistics real estate assets, established in 2019 by Blackstone. The closing of the sale of the property is subject to the satisfaction of various closing conditions. The Company anticipates closing the sale of the property in the first half of 2022. Following the closing of this transaction, CDI will...