Churchill Downs
Former Jockey Larry Melancon passed away Thursday at his home in Louisville at age 65. He won 2,857 races with 43 of those being graded stakes with earnings of $60,629,774. He was seventh in all-time Churchill Downs win with 914 and stakes wins at the oval with 47. Melancon's top victory came aboard Bachelor Beau in the 1986 GI Blue Grass S. "The Churchill Downs family is deeply saddened to learn the news of former jockey Larry Melancon's passing," Churchill Downs President Mike Anderson said. "Larry was amongst the winningest...
Churchill Downs will host a Norton Healthcare Vaccine Clinic for community members who are eligible per state guidelines and as supply is available. The public may now register for appointments to receive their first dose of vaccine. Appointment times are available Mar. 29 and 30 and Apr. 12 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The second round of booster shots will be automatically scheduled for Apr. 19 and 20 and May 3. Vaccinations will take place at Churchill Downs Racetrack in the second floor clubhouse. Individuals meeting eligibility requirements (essential...
Additional ticket inventory for the 147th running of the GI Kentucky Derby will go on sale to the general public Friday, Mar. 26 at noon Eastern time. The newest options, good for both Derby day May 1 and the preceding afternoon's GI Kentucky Oaks program, are uncovered reserved bleacher-type seating in the first turn and uncovered box seating for groups of six in the infield. There will also be a limited number of first- and second-floor grandstand reserved seats available for purchase. Click here for ticket information. For 2021, all...
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...
Kentucky Derby Museum is offering a Spring Break deal where children 14 and under receive FREE general admission from Mar. 27 - Apr. 3*. Activities will include a Historic Walking Tour of Churchill Downs, see "The Greatest Race," the Museum's 360° media experience, participate in a scavenger hunt and special crafts as well as benefit from a 10% discount on regularly-priced merchandise in the Kentucky Derby Museum Store. Lunch will be available for purchase at the Derby Cafe Express. *A parent or guardian must be present with children at all...
The GI Mister D. S., formerly known as the Arlington Million, will be run with a purse of $600,000 Aug. 14 at Arlington Park, in what is likely to be the final year of racing at the Chicago-area plant. The Million, along with the rest of its traditional accompanying stakes, was scrapped last year due to the uncertainty surrounding racing dates and purses at the track. Renamed for longtime Arlington owner Dick Duchossois, the Mister D. will be the centerpiece of an eight-stakes card that also includes the 1 3/16-mile...
Churchill Downs will offer 40 stakes races worth a record $13.44 million during its upcoming Spring Meet, which runs from Apr. 24 through June 26. The nine-week meeting kicks off Derby week with 18 stakes worth $10.14 million and culminating with the 147th running of the $3-million GI Kentucky Derby May 1. The Derby day stakes line-up includes the $1-million GI Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic; $500,000 GI Churchill Downs S. presented by Ford; and $500,000 GI Derby City Distaff. The marquee race day also includes the $500,000 GII Longines...
It wasn't that long ago that the picture for the 3-year-old fillies seemed pretty straightforward. Vequist (Nyquist) was the clear leader of the division and there appeared to be a handful of other top fillies that could challenge her supremacy. Has that ever changed. Vequist did nothing right in her 3-year-old debut in the Davona Dale S., finishing ninth, 26 lengths behind the winner. Second choice Millefeuille (Curlin) didn't fare much better, finishing seventh. The winner, Wholebodemeister (Bodemeister), paid $107.60. Meanwhile, GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies runner-up Dayoutoftheoffice (Into...
Former Churchill Downs CEO and president Albert Lynn Stone, better known as Lynn Stone, passed away Feb. 22 in Lexington, Ky. He was 95. During Stone's tenure at the helm of Churchill, from 1970-84, the Louisville track witnessed a remarkable three Triple Crown winners in Secretariat, Seattle Slew, and Affirmed. As Churchill's ninth president, he was responsible for instituting the 20-horse limit in the Kentucky Derby and also oversaw $10-million in physical improvements that included new Skye Terraces, a press box, jockey quarters, 12 new barns, fire-resistant tack rooms, sprinkling...
Champion 2-year-old filly Vequist (Nyquist), winner of the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies at Keeneland last fall, tops the roster of 106 early nominations to the GI Longines Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs Apr. 30. Campaigned by a partnership consisting of Gary Barber, Wachtel Stable and Swillcan Stable and trained by Butch Reid Jr., Vequist is based at Palm Meadows in South Florida and is scheduled to run in Saturday's GII Davona Dale S. at Gulfstream Park. Other top contenders that were nominated to the Oaks include Stonestreet Stables' GIII...
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...
Churchill Downs announced Tuesday that it has launched a process to sell Arlington Park, which sits on 326 acres of real estate 30 miles northwest of downtown Chicago. The sale will be handled by CBRE Group, a full service commercial real estate firm. Arlington's future looked bleak in September of 2019 when Churchill Downs made the surprising decision to not take the necessary steps to open a casino on the racetrack property. It is widely believed that Churchill did not want to create competition between an Arlington casino and a...