Kentucky Commission Approves September Derby Week Dates

During a March 19 meeting, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission unanimously approved Churchill Downs' request to race Sept. 1-5 to accommodate its COVID-19-related postponement of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1).

The five-day period is expected to replicate the usual May role of "Derby Week," when Churchill Downs stages a series of stakes races and events leading up to the Kentucky Derby. The Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1), the sister race to the Derby, is set for Sept. 4, though other races have not been announced.

The approval of commissioners was expected after Ellis Park and Kentucky Downs officials notified the commission of their support of the date shift. Those two tracks had been assigned race days during that period.

In an interview this week with BloodHorse, Skip Sayre, the chief of sales and marketing for Ellis Entertainment, the parent company of Ellis Park, said Ellis would be "made whole" by Churchill Downs in terms of the financial impact of shortening its meet, though he declined to disclose financial arrangements. The Henderson, Ky., track will now end its season Aug. 30.

During the Thursday meeting, commissioner Frank Jones Jr. asked Ellis Park to consider adding a couple of race dates to its summer meet to offset the loss of September race dates. Ken Mimmack, the project manager for Ellis Entertainment, said the track would consider it.

Kentucky Downs in Franklin, Ky., will now race Sept. 7, 9-10, 12-13, and 16, according to a tweet from the track. It had been scheduled to run Sept. 2 and end Sept. 13.

Churchill Downs has a regularly scheduled fall meet in the second half of September.

"We're happy to help Churchill Downs get through this crazy, crazy time that we're all going through," Ted Nicholson, the senior vice president and general manager of Kentucky Downs, told commissioners.

Also Thursday, the commission approved the delegation of KHRC executive director Marc Guilfoil to address Churchill Downs Inc.'s plans to develop a historical horse racing/simulcast facility in Newport, Ky., to be in operation while Turfway Park is being rebuilt and its synthetic surface replaced.

CDI, which bought Turfway last year, plans to demolish Turfway's old grandstand after racing concludes this month and build a new $100 million facility that will eventually incorporate the slot-like 1,500 HHR terminals.

The proposed Newport facility, located close to downtown Cincinnati, would offer 500 HHR machines, devices that have become popular and have fueled the growth of race purses in the state. HHR facilities in the state are currently closed due to COVID-19.