Kentucky Thoroughbred Association

Ten $1,000 scholarships will be distributed to full-time students from colleges and universities throughout the country when Churchill Downs joins the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association (“KTA”) for the annual College Scholarship Day at the home of the Kentucky Derby on Friday, Nov. 11.

College Scholarship Day at Churchill Downs will feature a concert by Grammy-nominated country music artist David Nail.  His current hit, “Let It Rain,” from his album “The Sound of a Million Dreams,” is climbing the charts.  A lifelong fan of baseball’s St. Louis Cardinals, Nail recently had the honor of singing “God Bless America” during to the Cardinals’ Game 7 World Series victory over the Texas Rangers in St. Louis.

Nail’s concert will begin after Friday’s 10^th and final race and he is expected to perform from roughly 5:30-7 p.m. (all times EST).  The concert is included in the track’s regular $3 admission price, but is complimentary for full-time students with a valid college ID.

Full-time students with a valid student ID will be granted free admission to the track for its 10-race program on Friday and those students can register to win a scholarship of $1,000.  A drawing for one Churchill Downs-KTA scholarship will be held after each of the days 10 races, starting with the first race scheduled at 12:40 p.m.

Students must be present to win a scholarship. 

The first 500 full-time students who register for the Churchill Downs-KTA College Scholarship Day drawings will receive a free Vineyard Vines® ball cap.  In addition students will enjoy tailgating games, drawings for wagering vouchers and the Vineyard Vines Patchwork Suburban will be onsite distributing promotional items.

Free shuttle service will be available to students traveling to Churchill Downs for College Scholarship Day.  The round-trip shuttles will originate at Gray’s College Bookstore at 1915 South Fourth St.  Shuttle service to-and-from the Churchill Downs-KTA College Scholarship Day festivities will be available from noon-7:30 p.m.

Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association will host their annual “College Scholarship Day” at the historic home of the Kentucky Derby on Friday, Nov. 6. A total of $10,000 in college scholarships will be given away that day to randomly drawn students between live races.

Also, all full-time college, university or trade school students will receive free general admission to Churchill Downs with a valid student identification card. The first 500 students through the turnstiles, which open at 11:30 a.m. ET, will be given a free Churchill Downs’ official “Lucky Shirt”, courtesy of Gray’s College Bookstore. The first of 10 live races Friday is 12:40 p.m. ET.

Once through admission gates, students will be directed to a registration tent near the saddling paddock to enter the prize drawings. One $1,000 scholarship will be awarded after each of the 10 live races. Any full-time student whose name is fortunate to be drawn must be present to win, and there is a limit of one scholarship per student.

“College Scholarship Day” coincides with the Fall Meet’s first of three “Dress to Impress” Friday Happy Hours events and a simulcast of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships from Santa Anita.

Extended “Dress to Impress” Friday Happy Hours, sponsored by Budweiser Select, will be featured every Friday in the newly refurbished Paddock Pavilion from 3-6 p.m. through Nov. 20. The cozy indoor location, conveniently situated adjacent to the saddling paddock, will feature $2 Budweiser Select, a special $2 warm drink offering for adults and hip music provided by a deejay: Ryan Cox (Nov. 6), LadyKillers (Nov. 13) and K-Dogg (Nov. 20). Additional $2 specials, including hot dogs, popcorn and sodas, will also be available in the track’s Upper Jockey Club.

The first of nine simulcast races from Oak Tree at Santa Anita on Friday, Nov. 6 is scheduled to begin at 2:15 p.m. with the first of six consecutive Breeders’ Cup events scheduled to commence with Santa Anita’s third race at 3:35 p.m. ET. The $2 million Breeders’ Cup Ladies Classic concludes the Breeders’ Cup parade with Race 8 at 6:45 p.m. ET. Additionally, Churchill Downs will offer advance wagering all day Friday on the Breeders’ Cup Championship Saturday program from Santa Anita.

    Churchill Downs’ 120th Fall Meet, featuring world-class horse racing, continues its 21-day run through Saturday, Nov. 28. General admission is $3, but only $1 for senior citizens and members of the track’s free-to-join Twin Spires Club. Children 12 and under are admitted free when accompanied by an adult. Parking is free in the Longfield Avenue lot (Gates 10 & 12) and $3 in all other lots. Valet parking is $5. For more information or to reserve seats, call (502) 636-4400 or visit www.ChurchillDowns.com.

    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 136th running of the Kentucky Derby on May 1, 2010. The track will conduct its 2009 Fall Meet from Sunday, Nov. 1 through Saturday, Nov. 28. Churchill Downs is scheduled to host the Breeders’ Cup World Championships for a record seventh time on November 5 and 6, 2010. Information about Churchill Downs can be found on the Internet at www.churchilldowns.com.

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Churchill Downs Incorporated ("Company" or "CDI") (NASDAQ: CHDN), the Kentucky Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (“HBPA”), and the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association (“KTA”) have reached agreement on a three-year contract that establishes levels of race purses at the home of the Kentucky Derby.  In addition, the Kentucky HBPA and CDI have agreed to dismiss their claims against one another in a lawsuit filed in United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky in 2008.  The agreement follows the expiration of the previous contract following the historic track’s 2009 Spring Meet.

    Churchill Downs has also agreed to provide a $1.5 million supplement to race purses divided evenly over the three years of the horsemen’s agreement.  That commitment includes a provision that would allow the track to distribute a greater share of that supplement early in the three-year period should race purses at Churchill Downs drop below anticipated levels.

    “Churchill Downs is very pleased to be part of this long-term agreement that is good for horsemen, Churchill Downs, Kentucky’s embattled horse industry and racing fans in Kentucky and throughout North America,” said Kevin Flanery, president of Churchill Downs racetrack.  “This three-year pact between our track and horsemen comes at a crucial time for Kentucky’s horse industry as horses and horsemen are leaving our state to pursue the growing purses and breeding incentives that exist in states with slots and other expanded wagering options at their racetracks.  Decisions are being made daily on where to breed and race in 2010 and beyond, and once horsemen, stallions and mares leave Kentucky, it will be very difficult to get them to return.  Churchill Downs’ commitment to provide an additional $1.5 million to purses is an effort to protect Kentucky racing from states that supplement their races with expanded gaming revenues.  Our hope is that the purse supplement will help keep a few more horses and horsemen in Kentucky through 2010 while our united horse industry works for the passage of legislation that would allow additional gaming at racetracks and level our competitive playing field with tracks and breeding operations in those rival states.”

     “It’s a good contract – I think it’s good for both parties,” said KHBPA President Rick Hiles.  “I think it’s going to work out well for the horsemen and for Churchill Downs.  We’re glad to get this behind us and we look forward to working together over the next three years in the effort to get all of Kentucky racing back on track.”    

    “The KTA appreciates the professional and unified manner we experienced in working with Churchill Downs in our recent negotiations for a contract renewal,” KTA President Don Robinson said.  “We believe all parties, owners, trainers and the track will benefit as racing continues in these troubled economic times.”

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