A crowd of 153,563 witnessed Kentucky Derby history on Saturday as
Double Eagle Ranch and Buena Suerte Equine’s Mine That Bird scored a
stunning upset at odds of 50-1 and captured the 135th Kentucky Derby
Presented by Yum! Brands by 6 3/4 lengths in a field of 19.
The attendance figure marks the ninth time that Kentucky Derby Day
attendance has topped 150,000. Combined attendance for the 2009 Kentucky
Derby and Kentucky Oaks was 258,430, exceeding the combined attendance
of both events from one year prior.
Excluding the Kentucky Derby race, total wagering from all sources on
the Kentucky Derby Day card was $51,406,269, up 2.6 percent from the
2008 figure of $50,110,812. Total wagering from all sources on the
13-race Kentucky Derby Day card at Churchill Downs was $155,969,770, a
decline of 5.3 percent from the $164,668,176 wagered a year earlier.
Total wagering from all sources on the Kentucky Derby race, which
includes on-track and off-track wagers, was $104,563,501, an 8.7-percent
decrease from the $114,557,364 all-sources total in 2008.
"The Churchill Downs team would like to extend its congratulations to
all those involved with Mine That Bird on his historic victory in this
year’s 135th running of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands,”
said Churchill Downs Incorporated Chief Operating Officer Bill
Carstanjen. "We welcomed an impressive and enthusiastic crowd under the
Twin Spires this year, and appreciate the support that the entire
Louisville community continues to deliver. Despite the very difficult
economy, we were able to offer a strong card of racing that produced
solid overall handle figures. Today was truly a Kentucky Derby to
remember.”
Race fans generated a Super Hi-5 carryover pool of $251,865 and a Pick 6
carryover pool of $781,146. Churchill Downs will resume its 2009 Spring
Meet on Wednesday, May 6, with post time at 12:45 p.m. EDT.
Churchill Downs returned $127,825,423 to bettors on the Kentucky Derby
Day race card, which amounts to 82 percent of total wagering. The
Commonwealth of Kentucky benefited from $789,241 in revenues generated
through the state’s excise tax on pari-mutuel wagering.
Mine That Bird’s unlikely win in Kentucky Derby 135 gave his owners
their first Kentucky Derby victory. It was also the first Derby win for
trainer Bennie "Chip” Woolley Jr., who was making his first appearance
in the race. The victory was the second for jockey Calvin Borel in the
"Run for the Roses,” who also captured the 2009 Oaks/Derby double by
virtue of his win aboard favored Rachel Alexandra in Kentucky Oaks 135
one day earlier. Mine That Bird, the ninth gelding to win the "Run for
the Roses,” returned $103.20 on a $2 wager and completed the 1 ¼-mile
distance in 2:02.66 over a sloppy track.
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 Spring Meet is underway and continues through July 5.
Churchill Downs is scheduled to host the Breeders’ Cup World
Championships for a record seventh time on November 5 and 6, 2010.
Information about Churchill Downs can be found on the Internet at www.churchilldowns.com.
Information set forth in this news release contains various
"forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the
Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "Act”)
provides certain "safe harbor” provisions for forward-looking
statements. All forward-looking statements made in this Quarterly Report
on Form 10-Q are made pursuant to the Act. The reader is cautioned that
such forward-looking statements are based on information available at
the time and/or management’s good faith belief with respect to future
events, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause
actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed
in the statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date
the statement was made. We assume no obligation to update
forward-looking information to reflect actual results, changes in
assumptions or changes in other factors affecting forward-looking
information. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by the
use of terms such as "anticipate,” "believe,” "could,” "estimate,”
"expect,” "intend,” "may,” "might,” "plan,” "predict,” "project,”
"should,” "will,” and similar words, although some forward-looking
statements are expressed differently. Although we believe that the
expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are
reasonable, we can give no assurance that such expectations will prove
to be correct. Important factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from expectations include: the effect of global
economic conditions, including any disruptions in the credit markets;
the effect (including possible increases in the cost of doing business)
resulting from future war and terrorist activities or political
uncertainties; the overall economic environment; the impact of
increasing insurance costs; the impact of interest rate fluctuations;
the effect of any change in our accounting policies or practices; the
financial performance of our racing operations; the impact of gaming
competition (including lotteries and riverboat, cruise ship and
land-based casinos) and other sports and entertainment options in those
markets in which we operate; the impact of live racing day competition
with other Florida and Louisiana racetracks within those respective
markets; costs associated with our efforts in support of alternative
gaming initiatives; costs associated with customer relationship
management initiatives; a substantial change in law or regulations
affecting pari-mutuel and gaming activities; a substantial change in
allocation of live racing days; changes in Illinois law that impact
revenues of racing operations in Illinois; the presence of wagering
facilities of Indiana racetracks near our operations; our continued
ability to effectively compete for the country’s top horses and trainers
necessary to field high-quality horse racing; our continued ability to
grow our share of the interstate simulcast market and obtain the
consents of horsemens' groups to interstate simulcasting; our ability to
execute our acquisition strategy and to complete or successfully operate
planned expansion projects; our ability to successfully complete any
divestiture transaction; our ability to execute on our permanent slot
facility in Louisiana and permanent slot facility in Florida; market
reaction to our expansion projects; the loss of our totalisator
companies or their inability to provide us assurance of the reliability
of their internal control processes through Statement on Auditing
Standards No. 70 audits or to keep their technology current; the need
for various alternative gaming approvals in Louisiana; our
accountability for environmental contamination; the loss of key
personnel; the impact of natural disasters on our operations and our
ability to adjust the casualty losses through our property and business
interruption insurance coverage; any business disruption associated with
a natural disaster and/or its aftermath; our ability to integrate
businesses we acquire, including our ability to maintain revenues at
historic levels and achieve anticipated cost savings; the impact of
wagering laws, including changes in laws or enforcement of those laws by
regulatory agencies; the outcome of pending or threatened litigation,
including the outcome of any counter-suits or claims arising in
connection with a pending lawsuit in federal court in the Western
District of Kentucky styled Churchill Downs Incorporated, et al v.
Thoroughbred Horsemen's Group, LLC, Case #08-CV-225-S; changes in
our relationships with horsemen's groups and their memberships; our
ability to reach agreement with horsemen's groups on future purse and
other agreements (including, without limiting, agreements on sharing of
revenues from gaming and advance deposit wagering); the effect of claims
of third parties to intellectual property rights; and the volatility of
our stock price.
