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Emmitt Smith, Brooks Nader to Host Club SI Opening at Churchill Downs

Pro Football Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith and model Brooks Nader will join with Sports Illustrated to host festivities when Club SI, the new luxury dining experience, debuts at Churchill Downs on opening day of Kentucky Derby week. Club SI, a multi-year exclusive naming rights partnership announced in January between Churchill Downs Racetrack and Sports Illustrated, will offer guests a modern, sophisticated race day experience as part of the racetrack's $200-million renovated Paddock Project.

Club SI will offer a luxury dining experience with an immersive view of the all-new Paddock and Paddock Runway and will be open on premium race days throughout the year at Churchill Downs. Guests will have the option to book dining tables, indulge in gourmet dishes from the curated Chef's Table Buffet, visit dedicated wagering windows and private bars, and enjoy outdoor trackside viewing for live races. Steps from the club, guests will be treated to the SI Enclosure which will deliver a front-row experience of the Paddock with covered outdoor dining tables.

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Churchill Downs, Sports Illustrated Partner With New SI Club

A multi-year partnership between Churchill Downs Racetrack and Sports Illustrated for exclusive naming rights of a new luxury dining experience, Club SI, ahead of the 150th running of the May 4 Kentucky Derby, Churchill Downs Incorporated announced Tuesday. Originally planned as the 1895 Club, Club SI will be unveiled opening night of Derby Week.

Club SI is part of the $200 million renovated Paddock Project at Churchill Downs, offering a new luxury equine-focused dining experience with a view of the all-new paddock and paddock runway giving guests behind-the-scenes experiences. The interior design of Club SI will showcase iconic Sports Illustrated magazine covers, editorial featuring past Kentucky Derby races, and a sneak peek into Sports Illustrated's new SI Resorts vertical art.

Each year, celebrity ambassadors will act as hosts for Club SI during the Kentucky Derby and the Kentucky Oaks for a premium race day experience.

Open on premium race days, the club will include dining tables to accommodate parties of two, four, six or eight guests who will enjoy gourmet dishes from the curated Chef's Table Buffet, designated wagering windows, private bars and outdoor trackside viewing for live races. Steps from the club, guests will be treated to the SI Enclosure which will deliver a front-row experience of the paddock with covered outdoor dining tables to accommodate parties of four.

“Sports Illustrated shares our goal of combining exciting sports moments with upscale entertainment, and Club SI will provide the perfect space to achieve this,” said Mike Anderson, President of Churchill Downs Racetrack.

Michael Sherman, SVP Media Brands at Authentic Brands Group, owner of the Sports Illustrated brand, added, “It is an honor to bring Club SI to Churchill Downs Racetrack, which has such a rich history that we've showcased through the pages of Sports Illustrated for decades. Club SI will celebrate iconic elements of the brand, while hosting celebrity talent and offering guests gourmet cuisine and cocktails, a unique vantage point of the new Paddock, and a once-in-a-lifetime horse racing experience for Derby 150.”

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Bellocq, Leggett Selected to Hall of Fame’s Joe Hirsch Roll of Honor

Renowned Eclipse Award-winning cartoonist Pierre “Peb” Bellocq and the late Eclipse Award-winning writer William Leggett have been selected to the National Museum of Racing’s Joe Hirsch Media Roll of Honor.

Bellocq, 94, was born in France in 1926. At age 19, the French racing journal France Courses gave him national exposure by publishing one of his cartoons of a jockey. Bellocq signed the drawing as “Peb,” a signature that became his lifelong moniker. By 1954, Bellocq’s work had achieved international acclaim and he was contracted by Laurel Park owner John D. Schapiro to do drawings for the prestigious Washington, D.C. International Stakes. Bellocq decided to relocate to the United States and in 1955 accepted an offer to work as the staff cartoonist for the Morning Telegraph and its sister paper, the Daily Racing Form, a job he held until December 2008.

“My father was a jump jockey in the south of France and my grandfather was a trainer. His father was a breeder. I was among horses right from the start,” Bellocq said.

Along with his work for the Form, Bellocq has been commissioned by numerous racetracks to produce vibrant murals capturing the flavor of the sport. His large-scale cartoon collages became fixtures at tracks such as Churchill Downs, Del Mar, Arlington, Oaklawn, Aqueduct, and The Meadowlands.

Leggett, who was born in Saratoga Springs, NY in 1931, became one of racing’s most celebrated and respected writers during his 30-year career at Sports Illustrated. He spent time as president of both the National Turf Writers Association and the New York Turf Writers Association and won an Eclipse Award for his racing writing in 1979.

“He had a tremendous knowledge of Thoroughbred racing,” said the late Whitney Tower, who worked with Leggett at Sports Illustrated for nearly 20 years. “He was an exceptional man, a great talent, and he contributed a lot to the success of Sports Illustrated. He knew his way around. The trainers respected him. He was very popular.”

In 1993, Leggett was one of the eight inaugural members of the Saratoga Springs Sports Hall of Fame. He died in 1996 in New York City at the age of 64.

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