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Despite ‘Unprecedented Pandemic,’ Churchill Downs Reports 53.3 Percent Wagering Increase

All-sources wagering on Churchill Downs' abbreviated 27-date Spring Meet totaled $240.5 million, which was a 53.3% increase from the 32 days of racing that followed last year's Kentucky Derby. Additionally, the average daily handle was up 81.7% from $4.9 million one year ago to $8.9 million this season.

The 146th Spring Meet, which was delayed and shortened to seven weeks from May 16-June 28, was staged under strict government-sanctioned protocols and without spectators for the first time in track history because of the COVID-19 pandemic. With no guests in attendance, many bettors were able to watch the racing action on FOX Sports' “America's Day at the Races,” which aired nationally every race day in high definition on either FS1 or FS2 through a partnership with FOX Sports and the New York Racing Association Inc. (NYRA).

Wagers on Churchill Downs' racing product were placed almost exclusively online via advance deposit wagering outlets, led by TwinSpires.com – the official advance-deposit wagering service for Churchill Downs Incorporated, its family of racetracks and the Kentucky Derby.

Churchill Downs experienced four of the track's six largest non-Derby, Oaks or Breeders' Cup betting days in track history, led by a record $19.3 million on May 23 (Stephen Foster Preview Day). Other big days were $16.8 million on May 30 (Winning Colors/Old Forester Mint Julep); $14.3 million on May 16 (Opening Day); and $13.8 million on June 27 (Stephen Foster Day).

“In the midst of an unprecedented pandemic, we can't thank our horsemen and horseplayers enough for their continued support and enthusiastic response throughout the Spring Meet,” said Churchill Downs Racetrack President Kevin Flanery. “Our team worked tirelessly with public health officials and our horsemen navigated through uncharted territory to deliver an important economic driver in a safe environment for thousands of individuals in the Commonwealth. I couldn't be more proud of our staff and everyone who made the season possible. It was, however, an incredibly unusual season without fans in the stands, and they were greatly missed. We very much look forward to welcoming them back to Churchill Downs for Kentucky Derby Week in September.”

A total of 2,536 horses made starts in the 268 races for a substantial average of 9.5 horses per race – up from 8.4 horses in 2019.

Purses paid to horsemen totaled $15.6 million and averaged $576,000 per day compared to last year's $601,000 daily average. The average purse per race was $58,000 compared to last season's $63,000.

Some of the sport's brightest equine stars shined at Churchill Downs during the Spring Meet, led by Midnight Bisou (21-13-5-3—$7,371,520) and Tom's d'Etat (18-11-2-1—$1,627,272), the top two-ranked horses on the June 29 National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) Top Thoroughbred Poll.

On June 27, Midnight Bisou, the 2019 Champion Older Dirt Female, powered home to an easy 8 ¼-length win in the $200,000 Fleur de Lis presented by Coca-Cola (Grade II). One race later, Tom's d'Etat delivered a brilliant performance in the $500,000 Stephen Foster presented by Coca-Cola (Grade II) as the 7-year-old horse collected his fourth consecutive stakes win while clocking 1 1/8 miles in 1:47.30 – just .02 off Victory Gallop's 1999 track and stakes record.

Both Tom's d'Etat and Midnight Bisou earned spots in the Breeders' Cup Classic and Distaff, respectively, at Keeneland on Nov. 7.

Other top horses who won stakes during the meet included $100,000 Aristides winner Volatile (5-4-1-0—$203,540), who emerged as a top contender for this fall's Breeders' Cup Sprint (GI); $100,000 Louisville (GIII) winner Admission Office (14-4-5-2—$432,957); $100,000 Blame winner Owendale (16-6-2-2—$1,143,735); $200,000 Wise Dan (GII) winner Factor This (29-10-3-4—$844,070); 2019 Breeders' Futurity (GI) winner Maxfield (3-3-0-0—$442,762), who won the $150,000 Matt Winn (GIII); 2019 Alabama (GI) winner Dunbar Road (8-5-1-1—$758,040), who won the $100,000 Shawnee; and 2019 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (GI) winner Sharing (6-4-1-1—$856,471), who won the $100,000 Tepin in advance of running second in the Group 1 Coronation at Royal Ascot.

Allowance winners during the season included 2018 Champion 3-Year-Old Filly and Longines Kentucky Oaks (GI) winner Monomoy Girl (12-10-2-0—$3,008,618) and 2019 Acorn (GI) and Coaching Club American Oaks (GI) winner Guarana (5-4-1-0—$928,268).

Eleven horses won multiple races at the meet, including $100,000 Dogwood (GIII) winner Four Graces (4-3-0-0—$134,450); promising 2-year-old and Bashford Manor (GIII) winner Cazadero (2-2-0-0—$106,160); turf sprinter Change of Control (17-5-4-2—$295,849); improving 3-year-old Art Collector (7-3-1-0—$188,475); and rising 3-year-old filly Paris Lights (3-2-0-1—$95,412).

Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen (100-17-11-10—$1,112,065) not only won his record-extending 23rd Churchill Downs training title, 17 wins to 16 over Brad Cox (69-16-8-6—$777,195), but he overtook south Louisville native Dale Romans (44-7-6-3—$239,159) as the track's all-time leading trainer. Asmussen has won 747 career races at Churchill Downs, three more than Romans, who overtook renowned Bill Mott (42-8-4-4—$481,140) on Nov. 12, 2017 after a 31-year reign.

Mott, who has 728 career wins at Churchill Downs, became only the seventh trainer in history to record 5,000 career wins when Moon Over Miami (7-2-0-0—$98,702) won at the Louisville track on June 20. Longtime Mott assistant Kenny McCarthy saddled the winner and accepted the local accolades.

Tyler Gaffalione (153-31-34-17—$1,711,573), 25, reaffirmed his status as one of the sport's escalating young stars by easily defeating 19-time local riding champion Corey Lanerie (167-24-18-23—$1,253,138), 31 wins to 24, in the jockey standings.

Owners Ken and Sarah Ramsey (18-5-2-1—$184,411) earned their record-extending 33rd crown as the leading owners at Churchill Downs. On May 24, the Nicholasville, Ky. couple registered their unprecedented 500th win beneath the Twin Spires, and finished the season with a total of 504 career Churchill Downs wins.

Gayle Benson's G M B Racing (7-2-1-0—$368,532), the owners of Tom's d'Etat, was the meet's top money-earning owner.

Racing in Kentucky will shift to Ellis Park (July 2-5 and July 17-Aug. 30) and Keeneland (July 8-12) before it returns to Churchill Downs in nine weeks for the rescheduled Kentucky Derby Week (Sept. 1-5). The 146th runnings of the Longines Kentucky Oaks (GI) and Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (GI) will be staged with spectators under strict guidelines on Friday, Sept. 4 and Saturday, Sept. 5, respectively.

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University Of Louisville, KEEP Release Second COVID-10 Kentucky Equine Business Impact Survey

The University of Louisville Equine Industry Program and the Kentucky Equine Education Project (KEEP) have released the second round of their COVID-19 Kentucky Equine Business Impact Survey. The survey will be shared with employers throughout Kentucky's horse industry and community to further capture the impacts of the pandemic on the Commonwealth's signature industry.

The second round of the COVID-19 Kentucky Equine Business Impact Survey will close July 13. Access the survey here.

The previous survey, conducted in May, showed that the pandemic resulted in Kentucky's equine businesses cutting costs and postponing capital improvement projects. However, the survey indicated that the vast majority of respondents did not have to lay off employees.

Since the last survey, horse racing has resumed in Kentucky, although without spectators, and historical horse racing facilities have reopened with limited capacity. The second round of the COVID-19 Kentucky Equine Business Impact Survey will capture how this is affecting the equine businesses across the state. Churchill Downs announced last week that the Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby, scheduled for Sept. 4 and Sept. 5, will occur with a limited number of spectators.

Survey participants will not be identified in the published results.

“Since we completed our first survey in May, the state has lifted some of the restrictions on the horse industry, which should provide a boost to equine business across the state,” said Elisabeth Jensen, KEEP's executive vice president who oversees the daily operations of the organization. “However, we have yet to see the impact of how the pandemic is affecting horse sales and what that means for Kentucky's equine economy. We hope that this second round of our survey can, when combined with the data from our May survey, paint a clearer picture of the challenges the industry will face.”

“The UofL Equine Industry Program educates and trains the next generation of leaders for Kentucky's signature industry,” said Sean Beirne, director of the UofL Equine Industry Program in the College of Business. “The COVID-19 Kentucky Equine Business Impact Survey provides us with an incredible up-to-the-moment view of the challenges that the industry will face in the coming years. In addition to helping inform policy-makers on the status of the industry, we can also use this data to prepare our students for the challenges of the industry they will be entering.”

The Kentucky Equine Education Project is a not-for-profit grassroots organization created in 2004 to preserve, promote and protect Kentucky's multi-breed horse industry.

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With Dominant Performance, Midnight Bisou Retains Her Crown In NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll

Champion Midnight Bisou further stamped her divisional superiority when she cruised to victory in the Grade 2 Fleur de Lis Stakes at Churchill Downs on June 27, a performance that allowed the daughter of Midnight Lute to continue her reign in the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) Top Thoroughbred Poll.

In her first start since running second in the $20 million Saudi Cup on February 29, Midnight Bisou scored an 8 ¼-length triumph in the Fleur de Lis over a field that included 2019 Kentucky Oaks winner Serengeti Empress. That victory earned the 2019 Eclipse Award heroine for champion older dirt female 25 first-place votes and 390 points this week to retain the top spot in the poll, a position she has held since March 10.

“I can't say enough how thankful we are to (owners) Jeff Bloom, Sol Kumin and the Allens for keeping this brilliant mare in training for this year,” Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen, who conditions Midnight Bisou, told the Churchill Downs publicity team.

Midnight Bisou was not alone in uncorking an emphatic performance beneath the Twin Spires this past weekend. G M B Racing's Tom's d'Etat drew off to a 4 ¼-length victory over By My Standards in the Grade 2 Stephen Foster Stakes to move up to second in the poll with 9 first-place votes and 347 points. The Stephen Foster marked the fourth consecutive victory for Tom's d'Etat, who earned a fees-paid berth into this year's Breeders' Cup Classic.

Grade 1-winner Mucho Gusto (217 points) holds in third with Code of Honor (4 first-place votes, 206 points) sitting fourth ahead of his expected run in the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap on July 4. By My Standards (180 points) drops to fifth followed by leading 3-year-old male Tiz the Law (3 first-place votes, 123 points) and Zulu Alpha (119 points). Vekoma (116 points), Maximum Security (3 first-place votes, 90 points), and Improbable (85) round out the top 10.

As evidenced by his status as the lone sophomore runner ranked in the top 10 of the Thoroughbred Poll, Tiz the Law remains the clear leader of the NTRA Top Three-Year-Old Poll.

The Belmont Stakes winner earned 40 first-place votes and 409 points to maintain his lead position. Trained by Barclay Tagg, Tiz the Law is expected to make his next start in the Grade 1 Travers Stakes on August 8 at Saratoga Race Course.

Santa Anita Derby winner Honor A. P. (1 first-place vote, 367 points) remains second followed by graded-stakes winner Authentic (276 points) and Belmont Stakes runner-up Dr Post (223).

King Guillermo (200 points) held in fifth with Grade 1 Acorn Stakes winner Gamine (138) in sixth.

Grade 1-winner Charlatan (105 points) is seventh followed by Max Player (97), Swiss Skydiver (71) and Maxfield (66) to complete the top 10.

The NTRA Top Thoroughbred polls are the sport's most comprehensive surveys of experts. Every week eligible journalists and broadcasters cast votes for their top 10 horses, with points awarded on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. All horses that have raced in the U.S., are in training in the U.S., or are known to be pointing to a major event in the U.S. are eligible for the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll. Voting in both the Top 3-Year-Old Poll and the Top Thoroughbred Poll is scheduled to be conducted through the conclusion of the Breeders' Cup in November.

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Kentucky Derby Museum Resumes Tours Of Churchill Downs

The Kentucky Derby Museum is thrilled to resume tours at historic Churchill Downs Monday, June 29. As the exclusive tour partner with Churchill Downs, the Museum provides a bucket list opportunity for visitors to explore and learn about the world famous racetrack.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, tours have been suspended since March 16 when the Museum closed to the public. The Museum reopened June 8 but could not yet conduct its exclusive tours at Churchill Downs due to COVID-19 restrictions.

For the first time ever, Churchill Downs is allowing Museum Guests to access The Mansion on two tours: Behind the Scenes and the Churchill Downs After-Hours Tours. These tours offer special access to non-public, posh areas of Churchill Downs Racetrack, including the exclusive, invitation-only venue called The Mansion.

Those looking to see horses on the track exercising can check out the Racehorse Workout Tour, offered Monday – Saturday from 7:30 A.M. – 8:30 A.M. As always, a guided 30 minute Historic Walking Tour is free with general admission. While the majority of tours resume, tour options that explore the Backside of the racetrack remain suspended due to COVID-19 restrictions. Additional tour options can be explored here.

Kentucky Derby Museum continues to follow state and federal health guidelines regarding health and safety. Tour capacity is limited to 10 people to allow for proper social distancing. Guests are required to go through a temperature check and wear a mask before touring on Churchill Downs' property.

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