Churchill Downs - Louisville, Kentucky
Churchill Downs
700 Central Avenue
Louisville, Kentucky 40208
(502) 636-4400
http://www.churchilldowns.com
Track Facts:
The Founding of Churchill Downs
While traveling in England and France in 1872-1873, 26-year-old Col. M. Lewis Clark, devised the idea of a Louisville Jockey Club for conducting race meets. Clark toured and visited with a number of prominent racing leaders, including England's Admiral Rous and France's Vicompte Darn, vice president of the French Jockey Club.
Upon his return from Europe, Clark began development of his racetrack which would serve to showcase the Kentucky breeding industry. The track would eventually become known as "Churchill Downs." The first reference of the name Churchill Downs came in an 1883 Kentucky Derby article reported by the former Louisville Commercial.
"The crowd in the grand stand sent out a volume of voice, and the crowd in the field took it up and carried it from boundary to boundary of Churchill Downs."
Track Information
Acreage: 147
Track: One mile, oval
Soil: Sandy loam, 75% sand, 23% silt, 2% clay
Width: 80 feet; backstretch, 79 feet
Distance from Derby Start to Finish Line: 1,320 feet; racetrack is 120 feet wide at Derby start
Distance from Last Turn to Finish Line: 1,234 1/2 feet
Distance from Finish Line to First Turn: 113 1/2 feet
Turf Course
Track: 7/8th mile, oval
Turf: 90% Fescue, 10% Bluegrass
Width: 80 feet
Stable Accommodations
Churchill Downs - 1,404 stalls - 47 barns
Trackside OTB - 500 stalls
Triple Crown
Graded Stakes Races
Gulfstream Park: Canadian Turf Stakes ,$125,000 ,4&up ,8.5f Turf
Gulfstream Park: Davona Dale Stakes ,$200,000 ,3yo f ,8f Dirt
Gulfstream Park: Fountain of Youth Stakes ,$300,000 ,3yo ,8.5f Dirt
Gulfstream Park: Gulfstream Park Mile ,$200,000 ,4&up ,8f Dirt
Gulfstream Park: Herecomesthebride Stakes ,$100,000 ,3yo f ,8.5f Turf
Gulfstream Park: Honey Fox Stakes ,$125,000 ,4&up f/m ,8f Turf
Gulfstream Park: Mac Diarmida Stakes ,$200,000 ,4&up ,11f Turf
Gulfstream Park: The Very One Stakes ,$125,000 ,4&up f/m ,9.5f Turf
Oaklawn Park: Razorback Handicap ,$600,000 ,4&up ,8.5f Dirt
Oaklawn Park: Southwest Stakes ,$750,000 ,3yo ,8.5f Dirt
Japan Racing Association: Hankyu Hai ,$838,000 ,4&up ,7f Turf
Japan Racing Association: Nakayama Kinen ,$1,383,000 ,4&up ,9f Turf
Oaklawn Park: Bayakoa Stakes ,$250,000 ,4&up f/m ,8.5f Dirt
Aqueduct: Gotham Stakes ,$300,000 ,3yo ,8f Dirt
Aqueduct: Tom Fool Handicap ,$200,000 ,4&up ,6f Dirt
Japan Racing Association: Ocean Stakes ,$838,000 ,4&up ,6f Turf
Japan Racing Association: Tulip Sho ,$1,072,000 ,3yo f ,8f Turf
Oaklawn Park: Honeybee Stakes ,$300,000 ,3yo f ,8.5f Dirt
Santa Anita: Frank E. Kilroe Mile ,$400,000 ,4&up ,8f Turf
Santa Anita: San Carlos Stakes ,$200,000 ,4&up ,7f Dirt
