Churchill Downs Incorporated (“CDI” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq:
CHDN) announced today that the Company will suspend racing
operations at Churchill Downs Racetrack (“Churchill Downs”)
beginning June 7, 2023, through the remainder of the Spring Meet,
scheduled to run to July 3. Live racing at Churchill Downs will be
conducted as scheduled this weekend on Saturday, June 3 and Sunday,
June 4. The remainder of the race meet will be relocated to Ellis
Park Racing & Gaming (“Ellis Park”) in Henderson, Kentucky,
beginning on Saturday, June 10.
Churchill Downs Racetrack has seen an unusual
number of horse injuries over the previous month resulting in 12
equine fatalities. Following a thorough internal review and
concurrent investigations conducted by the Kentucky Horse Racing
Commission (“KHRC”) and Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority
(“HISA”), no single factor has been identified as a potential cause
and no discernable pattern has been detected to link the
fatalities. Diagnostics testing of the racetrack by experts have
not raised concerns and the experts have concluded that the surface
is consistent with prior measurements from Churchill Downs in past
years. Even though the investigations and expert reports have
indicated no surface issues, in an abundance of caution, and in
alignment with a recommendation from HISA, CDI has elected to
relocate the meet in order to conduct a top-to-bottom review of all
safety and surface protocols and integrity measures in
collaboration and consultation with nationwide experts.
“The team at Churchill Downs takes great pride
in our commitment to safety and strives to set the highest standard
in racing, consistently going above and beyond the regulations and
policies that are required,” said Bill Carstanjen, CEO of CDI.
“What has happened at our track is deeply upsetting and absolutely
unacceptable. Despite our best efforts to identify a cause for the
recent horse injuries, and though no issues have been linked to our
racing surfaces or environment at Churchill Downs, we need to take
more time to conduct a top-to-bottom review of all of the details
and circumstances so that we can further strengthen our surface,
safety and integrity protocols.”
“In addition to our commitment to providing the
safest racing environment for our participants, we have an immense
responsibility as the economic engine of the Thoroughbred industry
in Kentucky which provides jobs and income for thousands of
families every day,” Carstanjen continued. “By relocating the
remainder of the meet to Ellis Park, we are able to maintain this
industry ecosystem with only minor disruption. We are grateful to
the Kentucky horsemen for their support, resiliency and continued
partnership as we collectively work to find answers during this
time.”
Ellis Park traditionally hosts a summer race
meet in Kentucky that is scheduled from July 7 to August 27, 2023.
The new safety initiatives announced by Churchill Downs earlier
this week will remain in effect for the remainder of this meet at
Ellis Park.
About Churchill Downs
Incorporated
Churchill Downs Incorporated (“CDI”, NASDAQ:
CHDN) has been creating extraordinary entertainment experiences for
nearly 150 years, beginning with the company’s most iconic and
enduring asset, the Kentucky Derby. Headquartered in Louisville,
Kentucky, CDI has expanded through the development of live and
historical racing entertainment venues, the growth of the
TwinSpires horse racing online wagering business and the operation
and development of regional casino gaming properties.
www.churchilldownsincorporated.com.
About Churchill Downs
Racetrack
Churchill Downs Racetrack (“CDRT”), the world’s
most legendary racetrack, has been the home of The Kentucky Derby,
the longest continually held annual sporting event in the United
States, since 1875. Located in Louisville, CDRT features a series
of themed race days during Derby Week, including the Kentucky Oaks,
and conducts Thoroughbred horse racing during three race meets in
the Spring, September, and the Fall. CDRT is located on 175 acres
and has a one-mile dirt track, a 7/8-mile turf track, a stabling
area, and provides seating for approximately 60,000 guests. The
stable area has barns sufficient to accommodate 1,400 horses and a
114-room dormitory for backstretch personnel. CDRT also has a
year-round simulcast wagering facility. www.ChurchillDowns.com.
About Ellis Park Racing &
Gaming
Ellis Park, Racking and Gaming (“Ellis Park”)
located north of the Ohio River and just south of Evansville,
Indiana, has been the home of summer Thoroughbred racing in
Kentucky for over 100 years. Ellis Park also features a gaming
entertainment venue with approximately 300 historical racing
machines.
This news release contains various
“forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe
harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by the
use of terms such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,”
“expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “predict,” “project,”
“seek,” “should,” “will,” and similar words or similar expressions
(or negative versions of such words or expressions).
Although we believe that the expectations
reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can
give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct.
Important factors, among others, that may materially affect actual
results or outcomes include the following: the occurrence of
extraordinary events, such as terrorist attacks, public health
threats, civil unrest, and inclement weather, including as a result
of climate change; the effect of economic conditions on our
consumers' confidence and discretionary spending or our access to
credit, including the impact of inflation; additional or increased
taxes and fees; the impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19)
pandemic, including the emergence of variant strains, and related
economic matters on our results of operations, financial conditions
and prospects; lack of confidence in the integrity of our core
businesses or any deterioration in our reputation; loss of key or
highly skilled personnel, as well as disruptions in the labor
market; inability to successfully focus on market access and retail
operations for our TwinSpires Sports and Casino business and
effectively compete; online security risk, including cyber-security
breaches, or loss or misuse of our stored information as a result
of a breach, including customers’ personal information, could lead
to government enforcement actions or other litigation; reliance on
our technology services and catastrophic events and system failures
disrupting our operations; the impact of significant competition,
and the expectation the competition levels will increase; changes
in consumer preferences, attendance, wagering, and sponsorships;
risks associated with equity investments, strategic alliances and
other third-party agreements; inability to respond to rapid
technological changes in a timely manner; concentration and
evolution of slot machine and historical racing machine (“HRM”)
manufacturing or other technology conditions that could impose
additional costs; failure to enter into or maintain agreements with
industry constituents, including horsemen and other racetracks;
reliance on our technology services and catastrophic events and
system failures disrupting our operations; inability to identify,
complete, or fully realize the benefits of acquisitions,
divestitures, development of new venues or the expansion of
existing facilities on time, on budget, or as planned; difficulty
in integrating recent or future acquisitions into our operations;
cost overruns and other uncertainties associated with the
development of new venues and the expansion of existing facilities;
general risks related to real estate ownership and significant
expenditures, including risks related to environmental liabilities;
personal injury litigation related to injuries occurring at our
racetracks; compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act or
other similar laws and regulations, or applicable
anti-money-laundering regulations; payment-related risks, such as
risk associated with fraudulent credit card or debit card use; work
stoppages and labor issues; risks related to pending or future
legal proceedings and other actions; highly regulated operations
and changes in the regulatory environment could adversely affect
our business; restrictions in our debt facilities limiting our
flexibility to operate our business; failure to comply with the
financial ratios and other covenants in our debt facilities and
other indebtedness; increases to interest rates (due to inflation
or otherwise), disruption in the credit markets or changes to our
credit ratings may adversely affect our business; increase in our
insurance costs, or inability to obtain similar insurance coverage
in the future, and any inability to recover under our insurance
policies for damages sustained at our properties in the event of
inclement weather and casualty events; and other factors described
under the heading “Risk Factors” in our most recent Annual Report
on Form 10-K and other filings we make with the Securities and
Exchange Commission.
We do not undertake any obligation to update or
revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise, except as required by
law.
Investor Contact: Philip Forbis(502)
394-1094Philip.Forbis@KyDerby.com |
Media Contact: Tonya Abeln(502)
386-1742Tonya.Abeln@KyDerby.com |
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