Churchill Downs Racetrack Announces Partnerships and Experiences for Historic 150th Running of the Kentucky Derby®

Signature Partners Feature Woodford Reserve, Longines, Ford, SAP, TwinSpires
New Partners Include Sports Illustrated, The Unwell Network, PopCorners, Q Mixers, Tractor Beverage Co.
Renewals Include Longines, vineyard vines, Kroger

LOUISVILLE, KY., (May 01, 2024) – Churchill Downs Racetrack (“Churchill Downs”) announced today official partnerships and brand experiences to enhance the milestone 150th Kentucky Derby Week.

Woodford Reserve and Sports Illustrated Sponsor New Luxury Clubs

The Woodford Reserve Paddock Club and Sports Illustrated’s Club SI are both an equine enthusiast’s dream with the clubs flanking each side of the newly renovated $200M paddock. For the first time ever, the Woodford Reserve Paddock Club offers guests access to the paddock circling ring via an exclusive underground tunnel. Club SI will feature Sports Illustrated editorial features and historic images. Both clubs offer views directly into the back of the paddock stalls from inside the club and access to view each race railside.

Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company will be hosting an onsite sweepstakes where one lucky fan will win a Ford vehicle of their choice in gas, hybrid, or electric. Guests can enter for a chance to win at Ford’s Paddock or Clubhouse Gate activations.

Longines Watch Boutique in Turf Club
Longines will feature for the first time a boutique in the Turf Club where the limited edition 150th Kentucky Derby Mini DolceVita timepiece will be showcased.


Woodford Reserve Paddock Plaza features Brown-Forman Bar, PopCorners and Fashion Brands
Brown-Forman brands will serve classic Derby cocktails including the Old Forester Mint Julep, Woodford Reserve Spire, Herradura Tequila Horseshoe Margarita and Finlandia Oaks Lily®
Pop-up boutique experiences will feature Derby-inspired fashion by Aviator Nation, Radley London, Brackish, Roots and Jones, and Fanatics.

PopCorners will debut with a 1920s speakeasy-themed activation while serving PopCorners samples and offering chances to win prizes.

Jackson Family Wines and LaCrema, White Claw and vineyard vines will continue to host fan activations and photo opportunities.

Tractor Beverage Company Debuts in First Turn Club. Tractor Beverage Company will provide guests with a variety of unique flavors of Tractor’s certified organic beverages and ‘mocktails’ while capturing the moment in front of their greenscape photo opportunity.


Infield Experiences feature The Unwell Network, TwinSpires.com, Q Mixers, Army, and Boot Barn

The Unwell Network will host a fan experience featuring a live interview between Call Her Daddy host, Alex Cooper and Hot Mess host, Alix Earle.

TwinSpires.com will offer an elevated infield experience for players. Amenities will include a big-screen television viewing area, product support and player services, a 360-degree photo booth, and complimentary Derby 150 contender buttons.

The US Army Golden Knights skydiving specialists will parachute into Churchill Downs prior to Wynonna Judd’s performance of the national anthem. In addition, the U.S. Army will host a 360-degree interactive photo booth at their infield activation.

Q Mixers will debut a Cocktail Club featuring a cocktail experience with an extensive menu of premium serves.

Boot Barn will offer customizable cowboy hat branding for select ticketed guests in the Infield Turf Bleachers.

Old Forester, White Claw, Red Bull and Aviator Nation will continue to host fan activations and photo opportunities.

“Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby sit at a unique crossroads of entertainment, sports and fashion with a global audience both in viewership and onsite guests,” said Casey Ramage, Vice President of Marketing & Partnerships, “We are proud to partner with these world-class brands and appreciate their creativity in creating distinctive memories for our fans.”


Official Kentucky Derby merchandise and accessories are available online at www.KentuckyDerbyStore.com and to learn more about this year’s race, please visit www.KentuckyDerby.com.


About the Kentucky Derby

The $5 million Kentucky Derby takes place on the first Saturday in May at historic Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. Inaugurated in 1875, the legendary 1 1/4-mile race for 3-year-old Thoroughbreds is the longest continually-held major sporting event in North America and the first leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown series. Also known as, “The Run for the Roses®” and “The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports®,” the Kentucky Derby is the most attended horse race in the nation. The 150th Kentucky Derby will take place on Saturday, May 4, 2024. For more information, please visit www.KentuckyDerby.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 and Race and Sports Book. www.ChurchillDowns.com.


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,” “scheduled,” 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, that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations 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 any pandemics, epidemics, or outbreaks of infectious diseases, including possible new variants of COVID-19, 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 general disruptions in the general labor market; 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 and other technology conditions that could impose additional costs; failure to enter into or maintain agreements with industry constituents, including horsemen and other racetracks; inability to successfully focus on market access and retail operations for our TwinSpires sports betting 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; inability to identify, complete, or fully realize the benefits of our proposed 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 problems; 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 in 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.