Churchill Downs Incorporated Opens Newport Racing & Gaming

The New Facility Features 500 Historical Racing Machines, Horse Racing Simulcast Area and Bar

LOUISVILLE, KY., (October 2, 2020 Churchill Downs Incorporated (“CDI”) (Nasdaq: CHDN) announced today the opening of Newport Racing & Gaming in Newport, Kentucky on Friday, October 2, 2020. Newport debuted 500 state-of-the-art historical racing machines (“HRMs”) with some of the best games from Ainsworth, Scientific Games and International Gaming Technology. The Property also features a pari-mutuel wagering simulcast area where guests can watch and wager on live horse racing and a bar area for convenient food and drink offerings.

“We are thrilled that Northern Kentucky will be able to enjoy this premier entertainment experience and that the Kentucky horse racing industry will benefit from the incremental purses generated through Newport Racing & Gaming,” said Bill Carstanjen, CEO of CDI. “We are grateful to Governor Beshear and the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission for their support of our efforts to attract the best horses to our racetracks and their support of the equine industry throughout the Commonwealth.”

The $38.4 million development project began in May 2020 with the renovation of the existing building’s exterior façade and the demolition and buildout of 47,000 square feet of interior space into a contemporary entertainment center. Newport Racing and Gaming is located in the Newport Shopping Center off Interstate 471 Exit 3 in Newport, Kentucky, and will provide 70 full time jobs in the local market.

Newport Racing and Gaming will operate under capacity restrictions in compliance with State and local requirements as well as follow all Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommendations. The “Churchill Downs Incorporated (CDI) 360 Degree Approach to Safety” will also be implemented including initiatives to facilitate social distancing, personal protection and enhanced cleaning.

All proceeds from “Friends and Family Night” at Newport Racing and Gaming on Wednesday, September 28, will be donated to Brighton Center, a nonprofit that serves to create opportunities for individuals and families to reach self-sufficiency through family support services, education, employment and leadership.

The facility will operate Mondays through Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily and open Fridays at 10 a.m. through Sundays at 2 a.m. CDI promotes responsible gaming. For more information, visit https://www.newportrg.com/.


About Churchill Downs Incorporated

Churchill Downs Incorporated is an industry-leading racing, online wagering and gaming entertainment company anchored by our iconic flagship event, the Kentucky Derby. We also own and operate three pari-mutual gaming entertainment venues in Kentucky: Derby City Gaming; Oak Grove Racing, Gaming, and Hotel; and Newport Racing and Gaming. Our online wagering business owns and operates TwinSpires.com, the largest and most profitable online horse racing wagering platform in the U.S., and BetAmerica, an online sports betting and iGaming platform in the U.S. We are also a leader in brick-and-mortar casino gaming with approximately 11,000 slot machines and video lottery terminals and 200 table games in eight states. Additional information about CDI can be found online at www.churchilldownsincorporated.com.

Information set forth in this news release contains various “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the “Act”), which provides certain “safe harbor” provisions. All forward-looking statements made in this news release are made pursuant to the Act. 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, although some forward-looking statements are expressed differently.

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 effect of economic conditions on our consumers’ confidence and discretionary spending or our access to credit; additional or increased taxes and fees; public perceptions or lack of confidence in the integrity of our business or any deterioration in our reputation; loss of key or highly skilled personnel; restrictions in our debt facilities limiting our flexibility to operate our business; general risks related to real estate ownership, including fluctuations in market values and environmental regulations; catastrophic events and system failures disrupting our operations; online security risk, including cyber-security breaches; inability to recover under our insurance policies for damages sustained at our properties in the event of inclement weather and casualty events; increases in insurance costs and inability to obtain similar insurance coverage in the future; inability to identify and complete acquisition, expansion or divestiture projects, on time, on budget or as planned; difficulty in integrating recent or future acquisitions into our operations; costs and uncertainties relating to the development of new venues and expansion of existing facilities; risks associated with equity investments, strategic alliances and other third-party agreements; inability to respond to rapid technological changes in a timely manner; inadvertent infringement of the intellectual property of others; inability to protect our own intellectual property rights; payment-related risks, such as risk associated with fraudulent credit card and debit card use; compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act or applicable money-laundering regulations; risks related to pending or future legal proceedings and other actions; inability to negotiate agreements with industry constituents, including horsemen and other racetracks; work stoppages and labor issues; changes in consumer preferences with respect to Churchill Downs Racetrack and the Kentucky Derby; personal injury litigation related to injuries occurring at our racetracks; weather and other conditions affecting our ability to conduct live racing; the occurrence of extraordinary events, such as terrorist attacks and public health threats, including the ongoing impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19 virus); changes in the regulatory environment of our racing operations; increased competition in the horseracing business; difficulty in attracting a sufficient number of horses and trainers for full field horseraces; our inability to utilize and provide totalizator services; changes in regulatory environment of our online horseracing business; number of people wagering on live horse races; increase in competition in our online horseracing; uncertainty and changes in the legal landscape relating to our online wagering business; continued legalization of online sports betting and iGaming in the United States and our ability to predict and capitalize on any such legalization; inability to expand our sports betting operations and effectively compete; failure to manage risks associated with sports betting; failure to comply with laws requiring us to block access to certain individuals could result in penalties or impairment with respect to our mobile and online wagering products; increased competition in our casino business; changes in regulatory environment of our casino business; and concentration and evolution of slot machine manufacturing and other technology conditions that could impose additional costs; and inability to collect gaming receivables from the customers to whom we extend credit.