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
Belmont at the Big A: Sheepshead Bay Stakes ,$200,000 ,4&up f/m ,11f Turf
Belmont at the Big A: Westchester Stakes ,$175,000 ,4&up ,8f Dirt
Churchill Downs: Alysheba S Presented by Sentient Jet ,$750,000 ,4&up ,8.5f Dirt
Churchill Downs: Edgewood S Presented by Forcht Bank ,$600,000 ,3yo f ,8.5f Turf
Churchill Downs: Eight Belles Stakes ,$600,000 ,3yo f ,7f Dirt
Churchill Downs: La Troienne Stakes ,$1,000,000 ,4&up f/m ,8.5f Dirt
Churchill Downs: Longines Kentucky Oaks ,$1,500,000 ,3yo f ,9f Dirt
Churchill Downs: Modesty Stakes ,$400,000 ,4&up f/m ,9f Turf
Churchill Downs: Unbridled Sidney Presented by Sysco ,$400,000 ,3&up f/m ,5.5f Turf
Newmarket (UK): The Jockey Club Stakes ,$151,000 ,4&up ,12f Turf
Belmont at the Big A: Fort Marcy Stakes ,$200,000 ,4&up ,9f Turf
Belmont at the Big A: Ruffian ,$200,000 ,4&up f/m ,8f Dirt
Churchill Downs: American Turf ,$600,000 ,3yo ,8.5f Turf
Churchill Downs: Bourbon Turf Classic ,$1,000,000 ,4&up ,9f Turf
Churchill Downs: Churchill Distaff Turf Mile ,$750,000 ,4&up f/m ,8f Turf
Churchill Downs: Churchill Downs Stakes ,$1,000,000 ,4&up ,7f Dirt
Churchill Downs: Derby City Distaff ,$1,000,000 ,4&up f/m ,7f Dirt
Churchill Downs: Kentucky Derby ,$5,000,000 ,3yo ,10f Dirt
Churchill Downs: Pat Day Mile ,$600,000 ,3yo ,8f Dirt
Churchill Downs: Turf Sprint ,$600,000 ,3&up ,5.5f Turf
