Near constant rain couldn’t dampen the spirits
of fans at Churchill Downs as Proud Spell, the 3-1 favorite, worked her
magic in Kentucky Oaks 134, dominating a field of 10 fillies as a crowd
of 100,046 looked on, the ninth largest on-track gathering in Kentucky
Oaks history. The dreary weather, which forced fans from their seats
during repeated downpours, did take its toll on wagering.
Total wagering from all sources on the Kentucky Oaks race, America’s
premier race for 3-year-old fillies, was $9,138,950 a 9.6-percent
decrease over the $10,112,064 wagered on the Kentucky Oaks race by
patrons in 2007. On-track wagering on the Kentucky Oaks race totaled
$2,540,831 a 14.4-percent decrease over the $2,968,635 wagered one year
ago. Off-track wagering on the Oaks race was $6,032,223, a 6.4-percent
decrease over the 2007 off-track total of $7,143,429.
All sources wagering on the 11-race Kentucky Oaks race card was
$31,231,991, a 7.0-percent decrease from the 2007 total of $33,570,510.
On-track wagering on the entire Kentucky Oaks card was $11,217,756, a
decrease of 8.3 percent from the $12,234,128 wagered by patrons at
Churchill Downs during the previous year. Off-track wagering on the
Kentucky Oaks card was $18,142,336, a 4.9-percent decrease over the 2007
figure of $19,086,056.
“Kentucky Oaks 134 started out spectacularly,
with an early arriving crowd and strong wagering right up until the time
it started pouring,” said Churchill Downs
President Steve Sexton. “The constant rain
drove our guests under cover, and wagering began to decline after a
seven-horse race scratched down to just five entries. Lower off-track
wagering also contributed to today’s declines,
as race fans in major South Florida markets were unable to wager on
Churchill Downs’ races, including the Kentucky
Oaks, due to an ongoing dispute with Florida horsemen. Additionally,
Kentucky horsemen did not permit any wagering on the Oaks undercard via
two national advanced-deposit wagering companies, TwinSpires.com and
Xpressbet.com, and that also contributed to lower off-track handle.”
Churchill Downs returned $25,460,421 to bettors, which amounts to 82
percent of total wagering. In 2007, bettors pocketed a total of
$27,214,401, or 81 percent of total wagering. The Commonwealth of
Kentucky benefited from $412,312 in revenues generated through the state’s
excise tax on pari-mutuel wagering. In 2007, the Kentucky Oaks Day race
card contributed to $450,657 to state coffers through the pari-mutuel
excise tax. The approximate contribution to purses from wagering on the
2008 Kentucky Oaks Day race card was $1.5 million, compared to $1.6
million one year ago.
The heavy rains that began at midday caused many fans to leave the track
early. However, 100,046 did brave the wet weather, only a 0.03 percent
decrease from the 2007 Kentucky Oaks Day crowd of 100,075, which also
endured periodic showers early in the day.
Churchill Downs’ on-track attendance and
wagering figures do not include totals from Churchill Downs’
Trackside Louisville off-track betting facility. A total of 5,967
patrons, a 12.6-percent decrease from the 2007 Trackside attendance
figure of 6,852, wagered $169,936 on the Kentucky Oaks race, a decrease
of 19.1 percent as compared to the $209,966 wagered on the Kentucky Oaks
race by Trackside patrons one year ago. Wagering by Trackside Louisville
patrons on the entire Kentucky Oaks Day race card was $656,357, a
decrease of 12.3 percent from the previous year’s
total of $748,740.
Churchill Downs, the world’s most legendary
racetrack, has conducted Thoroughbred racing and presented America’s
greatest race, the Kentucky Derby, continuously since 1875. Located in
Louisville, the flagship racetrack of Churchill Downs Incorporated
(NASDAQ Global Select Market: CHDN) also operates Trackside at Churchill
Downs, which offers year-round simulcast wagering at the historic track.
Churchill Downs will conduct the 134th running of the Kentucky Derby on
May 3, 2008. The track’s 2008 Spring Meet
runs from April 26 through July 6. Churchill Downs has hosted the
Breeders’ Cup World Championships a record
six times. Information about Churchill Downs can be found on the
Internet at www.churchilldowns.com.
Information set forth in this news release contains various “forward-looking
statements” within the meaning of Section 27A
of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the “Act”)
provides certain “safe harbor”
provisions for forward-looking statements. All forward-looking
statements made in this news release are made pursuant to the Act. The
reader is cautioned that such forward-looking statements are based on
information available at the time and/or management’s
good faith belief with respect to future events, and are subject to
risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results
to differ materially from those expressed in the statements.
Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date the statement was
made. We assume no obligation to update forward-looking information to
reflect actual results, changes in assumptions or changes in other
factors affecting forward-looking information. Forward-looking
statements are typically identified by the use of terms such as “anticipate,”
“believe,” “could,”
“estimate,” “expect,”
“intend,” “may,”
“might,” “plan,”
“predict,” “project,”
“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 effect of global economic conditions; the
effect (including possible increases in the cost of doing business)
resulting from future war and terrorist activities or political
uncertainties; the economic environment; the impact of increasing
insurance costs; the impact of interest rate fluctuations; the effect of
any change in our accounting policies or practices; the financial
performance of our racing operations; the impact of gaming competition
(including lotteries and riverboat, cruise ship and land-based casinos)
and other sports and entertainment options in those markets in which we
operate; the impact of live racing day competition with other Florida
and Louisiana racetracks within those respective markets; costs
associated with our efforts in support of alternative gaming
initiatives; costs associated with customer relationship management
initiatives; a substantial change in law or regulations affecting
pari-mutuel and gaming activities; a substantial change in allocation of
live racing days; changes in Illinois law that impact revenues of racing
operations in Illinois; the presence of wagering facilities of Indiana
racetracks near our operations; our continued ability to effectively
compete for the country’s top horses and
trainers necessary to field high-quality horse racing; our continued
ability to grow our share of the interstate simulcast market; our
ability to execute our acquisition strategy and to complete or
successfully operate planned expansion projects; our ability to
successfully complete any divestiture transaction; our ability to
execute on our temporary and permanent slot facilities in Louisiana;
market reaction to our expansion projects; the loss of our totalisator
companies or their inability to provide us assurance of the reliability
of their internal control processes through Statement on Auditing
Standards No. 70 audits or to keep their technology current; the need
for various alternative gaming approvals in Louisiana; our
accountability for environmental contamination; the loss of key
personnel; the impact of natural disasters, including Hurricanes
Katrina, Rita and Wilma on our operations and our ability to adjust the
casualty losses through our property and business interruption insurance
coverage; any business disruption associated with a natural disaster
and/or its aftermath; our ability to integrate businesses we acquire,
including our ability to maintain revenues at historic levels and
achieve anticipated cost savings; the impact of wagering laws, including
changes in laws or enforcement of those laws by regulatory agencies; the
effect of claims of third parties to intellectual property rights; and
the volatility of our stock price.
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