Churchill Downs

Churchill Downs is a thoroughbred horse racing complex in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. Since its opening in 1875, it has hosted the annual Kentucky Derby, the first leg of the Triple Crown, as well as the Kentucky Oaks. The venue is named after the Churchill family, prominent in Kentucky for many years. Churchill Downs has also hosted the Breeders' Cup on nine occasions, most recently on November 2 and 3, 2018.

The racetrack is owned and operated by Churchill Downs Incorporated. With the infield open for the Kentucky Derby, the capacity of Churchill Downs is roughly 170,000.

In 2009 the Horseplayers Association of North America introduced a rating system for 65 Thoroughbred racetracks in North America, which ranked Churchill Downs number 5 on its list.

In 2014, prior to the start of their spring meet, Churchill Downs announced an increase in parimutuel takeout rates. As a result of the takeout increase, Churchill Downs ranked number 22 in that year's Horseplayers Association of North America Track Ratings.

The track, formally named Churchill Downs in 1883, is named for the locally prominent Churchill family, after John and Henry Churchill leased 80 acres (32 ha) of their land to their nephew, Colonel Meriwether Lewis Clark Jr. (grandson of explorer William Clark). Clark was president of the Louisville Jockey Club and Driving Park Association, which formed in 1875. His father-in-law, Richard Ten Broeck, was a horse breeder and trainer, and introduced Clark to horse racing, attending the English Derby at Epsom Downs outside London. Back in Louisville, Clark sought to build an upscale track like Epsom Downs, and include a signature race resembling the English Derby. Clark gathered 320 local sportsmen and business leaders to each invest $100 to fund a new racetrack and grandstand for the Louisville Jockey Club.

Churchill Downs filled a void in Louisville left by the closing of Oakland and Woodlawn, two earlier race courses. The then-rural location was along Louisville and Nashville Railroad tracks, allowing for easy transport of horses. Clark, who preferred longer races to the relatively short ones that had become popular by the 1890s, was running short of funds, and in 1894 sold the track to a syndicate led by William E. Applegate. The new ownership instituted changes, such as commissioning the twin spire grandstand in 1895, shortening the length of the signature race to its modern 1+1⁄4 miles (2.0 km) in 1896, and adorning the winner of the Derby with a garland of roses, a tradition that also began in 1896.

In early 1902, Applegate, who had made his fortune as a bookmaker, turned over the day-to-day operation of the track to Charles F. Grainger, then the mayor of Louisville, in an effort to move Churchill Downs away from being primarily known for gambling. Among the new people Applegate brought on board to help him run the track was Col. Matt Winn of Louisville. Churchill Downs prospered and the Kentucky Derby then became the preeminent stakes race for three-year-old thoroughbred horses in North America.^{[citation needed]}

During that early period, a new clubhouse was built in order to promote social interaction and new events such as steeplechases, automobile races and band concerts. The State Fair was held on the grounds, featuring the odd spectacle of two locomotives being intentionally crashed head-on in the infield.