Churchill Downs Inc. | Horse Racing Free Tips

Carstanjen: Louisville Community ‘Overwhelmingly’ Supports Going Forward With Kentucky Derby

Churchill Downs Inc. chief executive officer Bill Carstanjen appeared on CNBC's “Power Lunch” on Thursday, telling co-anchor Kelly Evans the Kentucky Derby will go on as scheduled Sept. 5, in part because he says the Louisville community “overwhelmingly” supports the event and that it's “an important part of our traditions and culture.”

Protesters, including Pastor Timothy Findley Jr. of the Kingdom Fellowship Christian Life Center in Louisville and leader of the Justice and Freedom Coalition, have called for the Derby to be cancelled this year in the wake of the shooting death of Breonna Taylor. The 26-year-old African-American emergency medical technician was shot in her home by Louisville police executing a no-knock warrant in search of a suspected drug dealer. No one has been charged in her death.

On Aug. 25, protesters marched through Louisville, at one point gathering outside the main gate of Churchill Downs and hanging a “Justice for Breonna Taylor” sign over an entrance sign to the track.

Findley and others have said they plan more demonstrations over the next week in hopes of disrupting or cancelling the Derby..

“With all due respect to the pastor, I think that's not the majority of our community,” said Carstanjen. “The community in general overwhelmingly supports having the Derby. That doesn't mean that we're not sensitive and a part of the dialogue on the social and racial equality issues in our community and in our society.

“Our company's been around for 145 years – this is our 146^th Kentucky Derby,” Carstanjen told Evans. “But the feedback has been overwhelming to us through the community that this should go on. This is an important part of healing, this is an important part of our traditions and culture in our community.”

Evans also asked Carstanjen about the decision to run the Derby without spectators.

“Well, first it was a really, really hard decision and we made it at the last possible minute,” said Carstanjen. “But after a period where we saw some encouraging signs with COVID-19 and Jefferson County where Louisville is located, over the last couple of weeks we saw a real surge. So we've been designated a 'red zone' by the White House, and we're seeing some discouraging signs and we needed to make a decision.

“So it was personally and professionally a really disappointing decision to have to make but without question it was the right thing for us to do. Our priority is keeping our community safe, our fans, our team members, and we got to the point with the numbers being what they were that that was the only responsible decision.”

Watch the Power Lunch segment here.

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‘Right And Responsible Decision’: Kentucky Derby 2020 To Be Held Without Fans

Churchill Downs Incorporated announced Friday its decision to run the 146th Kentucky Derby on Sept. 5, 2020 without fans. CDI
issued the following statement:

The Kentucky Derby is a time-honored American tradition which has always been about bringing people together. However, the health and safety of our team, fans and participants is our highest concern. Churchill Downs has worked diligently over the last several months to plan a safe Derby with a limited number of spectators in attendance. We were confident in that plan, but dedicated to remaining flexible using the best and most reliable information available. With the current significant increases in COVID-19 cases in Louisville as well as across the region, we needed to again revisit our planning. We have made the difficult decision to hold this year's Kentucky Derby on September 5 without fans. Churchill Downs and all of our team members feel strongly that it is our collective responsibility as citizens of Louisville to do all we responsibly can to protect the health, safety and security of our community in these challenging times and believe that running the Derby without spectators is the best way to do that. We deeply regret the disappointment this will bring to our loyal fans.

The decision comes with the support of Governor Andy Beshear.

“The virus is still aggressively spreading in Kentucky, and the White House has announced that Jefferson County and the City of Louisville are in a 'red zone' based on increases in cases. This week alone the county had more than 2,300 new cases,” Gov. Beshear said. “I applaud Churchill Downs for continuing to monitor the virus and for making the right and responsible decision. I am asking all Kentuckians to take action to stop the spread of the virus so we can get back to the many traditions we enjoy, like the Kentucky Derby.”

Since early May, decisions regarding this year's Kentucky Derby have been made in consultation with public health authorities including data provided by medical experts at Norton Healthcare. Positivity rates in the more than 70,000 patients tested at Norton have gone from as low as two percent in June to a rapid escalation of 10 percent in recent days.

“This is a critical point in time for our community,” said Russell F. Cox, president and CEO of Norton Healthcare. “This remains a very fluid situation and every event should be evaluated based on the data available as close to the date of the event as possible. We appreciate and support Churchill Downs' decision.”

“This year's Kentucky Derby was never going to be the celebration we're used to, but I could not be more grateful to our tremendous team members and community partners for all of their efforts. We've left no stones unturned and reached the right decision,” said Bill Carstanjen, CEO of CDI. “We hope our fans, the Louisville community and our country find an opportunity over the coming weeks to reflect on the challenges we have faced this year as a community and as a nation, and work together toward a better and safer future.”

Additional information about Kentucky Derby 146:

 The decision to run without fans includes Kentucky Oaks on Friday, Sept. 4 and all live racing at Churchill Downs Racetrack for Derby week (Sept. 1-5). Only essential personnel and participants will be permitted on property.
 Ticket holders for all Derby week race dates and related programming, including Dawn at the Downs, will be automatically issued a refund.
 NBC will televise coverage of the Kentucky Derby and undercard racing on Sept. 5 from 2:30-7:30 p.m. ET. The 146th running of the Kentucky Oaks will be televised Friday, Sept. 4 on NBCSN from 3-6 p.m. ET.

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‘Long-Term, That Land Gets Sold’: Churchill CEO Casts Dark Future Over Arlington Park

Churchill Downs Inc. CEO Bill Carstanjen made headlines in Illinois on Thursday after comments about the CDI-owned Arlington Park during a quarterly earnings call with investors, reports the Chicago Daily Herald.

“The long-term solution is not Arlington Park. That land will have a higher and better purpose for something else at some point,” Carstanjen said. “But we want to work constructively with all of the constituencies in the market to see if there's an opportunity to move the license or otherwise change the circumstances so that racing can continue in Illinois. For us, we've been patient and thoughtful and constructive with the parties up in that jurisdiction, but long-term that land gets sold and that license will need to move if it's going to continue.”

Churchill declined the chance to pursue casino games at Arlington last year, despite having the opportunity to apply for a slots license at the Chicagoland track last year. Initially CDI had planned to conduct sports betting at Arlington, but now those operations in Illinois will be restricted to Rivers Casino.

The Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association released the following statement in response to Carstanjen's comments: “For Churchill's CEO to say preposterously that Churchill has been 'patient' with other stakeholders speaks to the height of Churchill's contempt for the elected officials and working families of Illinois. The very least that Churchill could do is be honest about its true intention: the company cares only about maximizing profit and is happy to sacrifice the spirit of Illinois law and the livelihood of working Illinoisans to serve its greed.”

Delayed first by the coronavirus pandemic and then by a contract dispute with the ITHA, Arlington began a 30-day meet without fans on July 23.

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View From The Eighth Pole: A Coup d’Etat Of Kentucky Horsemen

Horse owners and trainers should very much beware when a racetrack advocates on behalf of a new horsemen's organization. That is what is happening in Kentucky as Churchill Downs Inc. in Louisville and The Red Mile in Lexington have endorsed a fledgling group to rival the 47-year-old Kentucky Harness Horsemen's Association to represent horsemen at the new casino/harness track in Oak Grove near the Tennessee border, an hour's drive northwest of Nashville.

In fact, “endorsed” may not be a strong enough term. It wouldn't be that much of a stretch to say Churchill Downs Inc. and The Red Mile have masterminded a quiet coup d'etat of an existing harness horsemen's organization and that the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission obsequiously rubber-stamped it in April, giving legitimacy to a nebulous entity called the Kentucky Harness Association.

Approval of this dubious move is on the agenda of the Kentucky General Assembly's Legislative Research Commission at the state capitol in Frankfort on Thursday. There's no reason to believe the commission will do anything but accept the changes recommended by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission.

There is so much wrong with this, not the least of which is that Churchill Downs Inc. appeared to work in collaboration with the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission on language for the regulation that helps create this new organization while neutralizing the longstanding harness horsemen's representative.

Last Nov. 22, Mike Ziegler, executive director of racing for Churchill Downs Inc., sent an email to Marc Guilfoil, executive director of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, stating: “Per a conversation between John and Secretary Russell, attached are the proposed regulation changes in a word document for the track extension regulation and the Standardbred horsemen group.”

The email was acquired from the commission via public records requests.

Interestingly, Nov. 22 is also the date of a letter Ziegler sent to Guilfoil saying that “it has been brought to our attention that the Kentucky Harness Association has requested approval from the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission to serve as an association representing Standardbred horsemen in the Commonwealth. Churchill Downs Incorporated is fully supportive of this request.”

It's amazing how Ziegler and Churchill Downs Inc. simultaneously went from having something “brought to our attention” to actually proposing language for the regulation to make it happen – all on the same day.

In that Nov. 22 email from Ziegler to Guilfoil, “John” would be John McCarthy, a powerful lobbyist in Frankfort representing Churchill Downs Inc. “Secretary Russell” would be Gail Russell, then secretary of the Public Protection Cabinet for lame duck Gov. Matt Bevin, who lost his bid for reelection on Nov. 5, 2019.

While the wheels were set in motion during Bevin's tenure as governor, his successor, Andy Beshear, will share in the blame if these changes are approved by the general assembly.

By their own admission, this new Kentucky Harness Association had a grand total of three members when the issue came before the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission for recognition. Let me repeat that: three total members.

The person said to be the organizer of the Kentucky Harness Association, Bob Brady, is brother-in-law of Ken Jackson, a member of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. Jackson voted in favor of recognizing the organization started by his brother-in-law that could be charged with negotiating contracts on behalf of hundreds or thousands of horse owners and trainers.

Brady and Jackson are partners in a Lexington-based Standardbred auction company co-owned with the entity that owns The Red Mile harness track. The latter endorsed Brady's new organization, an association it might negotiate contracts with. This is about as incestuous as you can get.

It should also be noted that Jackson, in his role with the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, made the motion in 2018 to award the Oak Grove casino and harness license to Churchill Downs Inc., which partnered with the Keeneland Association on the proposed project. There were other viable bidders.

Why should anyone in the Thoroughbred industry care about what organization represents harness owners and trainers at a small Kentucky casino/racetrack?

If you are a Thoroughbred owner or trainer, don't think this can't happen to you. I've seen this movie play out in Florida, where loopholes in state law are exploited to create bogus race meetings that operate with the approval of sham horsemen's organizations. The organizers do this to exploit revenue from casinos, card rooms or simulcasting and they don't have to share revenue with the sham horsemen's organizations. Can this happen in Kentucky? I wouldn't bet against it.

Churchill Downs pulled a bait and switch scheme at Calder Race Course in Florida, getting horse owners and trainers to support a slots machine referendum and then, after public approval, tearing down the grandstand and eventually connecting the casino license the horsemen helped secure to a jai-alai permit.

I can't blame Churchill Downs Inc. for trying to overthrow a legitimate harness horsemen's organization and replacing it with hand-picked toadies. Company executives are only trying to maximum revenue to shareholders and increase the potential for their own bonuses. They are not looking out for the best interests of the horse industry.

That's my view from the eighth pole.

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