Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ: CHDN) ("CDI” or "Company”) today
announced that T. Kevin Flanery has been named the 13th track
president of Churchill Downs Racetrack ("Churchill”), home of America’s
greatest race, the Kentucky Derby.
Flanery will report to Bill Carstanjen, chief operating officer of CDI,
and will remain a Company senior vice president.
Flanery joined CDI in December 2005 as vice president of national public
affairs, and was named senior vice president of national public affairs
and communications in March 2008. While leading the Company’s
legislative and communications initiatives, Flanery headed the
successful 2008 campaign to permit Calder Race Course, the Company’s
racetrack in Miami, to operate slot machines.
"Kevin’s diverse background in business, government and law has been an
asset in his different roles with CDI,” said Robert L. Evans, president
and chief executive officer of CDI. "His ability to work with our
business partners and other constituencies will be invaluable as we
create exciting new racing events for our loyal customers while
attracting new fans to our sport.”
"The entire racetrack team at Churchill Downs is looking forward to
working with Kevin,” said Carstanjen. "Over the three years he’s spent
in the industry, he’s proven that he can blend all that’s great about
our history and tradition with the innovation and change necessary to
drive racing into the future.”
"The opportunity to lead this nation’s most storied racetrack and the
home of the Kentucky Derby is a special honor, and I’m very grateful for
this opportunity,” said Flanery. "Having grown up in the surrounding
neighborhood, I have an appreciation for what this track means to
Louisville and to the state of Kentucky. Preserving the traditions of
the past while creating a new and exciting future for racing is a
challenge I look forward to tackling, with the help and input of our
horsemen, neighbors and customers.”
Before joining CDI, Flanery held a number of key positions in government
and private business, including secretary of the Kentucky Finance and
Administration Cabinet and president of Hagan Properties, a real estate
development company based in Louisville, Ky. A 43-year-old native of
Louisville, Flanery has been active in a variety of community activities
and currently serves on the board of trustees of Norton Healthcare and
the board of directors of St. Francis De Sales High School. He holds a
bachelor’s of arts degree in psychology from Bellarmine University and a
juris doctor degree from the University of Kentucky College of Law,
where he was inducted into the Order of the Coif.
CDI will conduct a search to fill Flanery’s prior roles as head of
national public affairs and communications.
Churchill Downs, the world’s most legendary racetrack, has conducted
Thoroughbred racing and presented America’s greatest race, the Kentucky
Derby, continuously since 1875. Located in Louisville, the flagship
racetrack of Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ Global Select Market:
CHDN) also operates Trackside at Churchill Downs, which offers
year-round simulcast wagering at the historic track. Churchill Downs
will conduct the 136th running of the Kentucky Derby on May
1, 2010. The track’s 2009 Fall Meet is scheduled for Nov. 1-28.
Churchill Downs has hosted the Breeders’ Cup World Championships a
record six times, and will host the international racing championship
again on Nov. 5-6, 2010. Information about Churchill Downs can be found
on the Internet at www.churchilldowns.com.
Churchill Downs Incorporated, headquartered in Louisville, Ky., owns and
operates world-renowned horse racing venues throughout the United
States. Churchill Downs’ four racetracks in Florida, Illinois, Kentucky
and Louisiana host many of North America’s most prestigious races,
including the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks, Arlington Million,
Princess Rooney Handicap and Louisiana Derby. Churchill Downs racetracks
have hosted seven Breeders’ Cup World Championships. Churchill Downs
also owns off-track betting facilities and has interests in various
advance-deposit wagering, television production, telecommunications and
racing services companies, including a 50-percent interest in the
national cable and satellite network HorseRacing TV™, that support the
Company’s network of simulcasting and racing operations. Churchill Downs
trades on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol CHDN and can
be found on the Internet at www.churchilldownsincorporated.com.
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