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About Churchill Downs
Churchill Downs is located in Louisville, Kentucky. The 147-acre venue serves as home to the annual Kentucky Derby and hosts three thoroughbred horse racing events during spring, September and other fall months. The Kentucky Derby is held on the one-mile dirt oval track, which is featured alongside a seven-furlong turf course. Over 5,000 horses cycle through Churchill Downs on a yearly basis for the Kentucky Derby, Kentucky Oaks and other thoroughbred races.
The legendary track is known as much for its architecture and fashion as its events. The Twin Spires towering over the grandstand is perhaps Churchill Downs' most prominent aesthetic feature. Other than the grandstand, racegoers can sit in Millionaires Row, Sky Terrace, Turf Club or Clubhouse areas. The Kentucky Derby has become synonymous with 170,000-plus spectators arriving in lavish hats, dresses and suits, adding character to a spectacle that already has the longest-running history of any continual American sporting event in history.
Churchill Downs has welcomed the Breeders' Cup World Championship, a two-day, season-ending extravaganza involving horses, jockeys, trainers and owners worldwide, on eight separate occasions.
History of Churchill Downs
Churchill Downs was built upon 80 acres purchased by Colonel Meriwether Lewis Clark Jr. from his uncles, Henry and John Churchill, in 1872. The debut race was held May 17, 1875, and consisted of the Kentucky Derby, Kentucky Oaks and Clark Handicap. The inaugural Kentucky Derby was captured by Aristides, while Bonaventure won the first ever overall race held at the track.
Churchill Downs has always held a certain pedigree, although the track didn't turn its first profit until 1903. Eventually, in 1938, Matt Winn was named president and dedicated a committee to turn Churchill Downs into a nonprofit that donated $1.5 million over 10 years. Decades later, another substantial change took place as president Steve Sexton initiated a renovation process during the years 2002-03. In 2009, Kevin Flanery took over as president where he remained in the position until 2020. Michael W. Anderson was named the 14th president of Churchill Downs Racetrack on December 22, 2020.
It was wonderful. đMy husband and I experienced horse racing at Churchill Downs upfront & personal, we had fun betting on the horses and even WON. We toured some thoroughbred farms as well and even saw Kentucky Derby winners. Ticketmaster made it real easy and even sent reminders re: our events when it was time to go. đ
Great evening. From easy parking to helpful employees directing us every step of the way from entrance to seating us at our table. There was no table service, but access and ordering drinks was easy and the bartender was courteous and personable. Buffet dining was well organized and good enough. Betting windows steps away and patient with novice betting. Perfect views near the finish line both inside and out. Great fun to take out of town guests.
Seeing the horses run on the official Kentucky Derby track was fun! The building is so big.
Fun day at Churchill Downs watching beautiful thoroughbred horses run. Lots of great seats were available for purchase. We moved from our seats close to the finish line back and forth to the paddock, where the horses were saddled and prepared for the next race. The paddock gave us a great view of the jockeys, horses and horsemen. Bright colors and shining horses.
We have been to Churchill Downs several times and have enjoyed the facilities and food offerings. However, on this visit for Fatherâs Day we were greatly disappointed. The kitchen could not keep up with demand leaving empty containers of food, making food options very scarce. When food did arrive it was cold and not to the standards we have been used to. The wait staff was very inattentive, making it almost impossible to get a drink. We purchased 10 total seats but when we arrived a table for 7 had 8 total chairs making it very cramped. Very disappointed and will definitely think twice about using Churchill downs again to celebrate an event.
We had a great time. I'm only complaint is I purchased 7 seats in section 115 G and there was only seats available for 6 ppl and I spent the night standing
Everyone was pleasant and professional I had no problem with my tickets everything was đđđ..I was very satisfied..Thank you for making happen
Going to Downs After Dark on the 4th Floor was a very nice set up but for $89 I thought it was priced to high for a menu consisting of baked chicken and pork shoulder. It was nicely displayed and the sides were good along with very attentive service and even the bar prices were reasonable but I would have thought $50 would have been a more reasonable price for what was offered on the buffet.
The weather was beautiful! The horse races events were spectacular and the workers were very friendly and helpful.
A truly enjoyable evening with Great food..and Exciting Racing.
This is our 3rd time attending Downs After Dark at Churchill Downs.. We had an amazing time. Great food, great service and great atmosphere!
We enjoyed the races on Friday afternoon. We had a great table in The Rose Lounge. Our waitress was sweet and attentive and the food was good. We had a good view of the track and easy access to the betting windows. Everything about our experience was so good we decided to go again on Saturday evening, but we lived to regret that! Saturday evening everywhere we went there was loud blaring rock and roll music. We had tickets to Millionaires Row which was a big disappointment, as it was not the setting we expected. We did not have a good view of the track, and like I said before, lots of loud music! These tickets were much more expensive but definitely not worth the cost! So, we had one good experience but one not so good experience!
All of the lines were so long that we spent mote time in lines than enjoying the event. As a child i enjoyed going to the race track that I was excited to go as an adult. But the lines for everything were so long that you spent more time in line than enjoying the races and placing bets
Great venue, lots of fun. The employees at the track and in the dining room were wonderful and very helpful, from the person who greeted me at the front entrance to the elevator operator, the waitress and the hosts. It was so great to be back in the VILLE and I hope to return to Churchill Downs again soon.
The food was great! The one bartender was overworked which made for long lines. There were ONLY 4 picnic tables in the courtyard and 100s of patrons. There was no where to sit outside to watch the races. Very terrible to only have 4 tables. Bad planning
Parking was terrible. Locating the seats was very difficult. Sections are not marked. After waiting in line 20 minutes for 1 drink we were able to catch a couple of races. Tried to get another drink and food. All the lines were at least 45 minutes long, they didnât seem to move at all! Gave up and left. So if you donât plan to eat/drink or just enjoy spending your evening in lines then this is the place for you!
The experience was a lot of fun. We did the walking tour before we watched the races which we really enjoyed. We had trouble finding our seats on the 3xx section. Couldnât find how to get to level 3. Other than that everything was great.
We purchased general admission tickets for Churchill Downs. We showed our general admission tickets to the ticket helpers, and they pointed the way. Unfortunately we spent much time in the heat trying to get to the area printed on our tickets. We finally gave up and asked someone else where we could sit. to make a long story short, the numbers on our tickets were bogus and did not match any seating in Churchill downs. Why does the ticket have rows and seats that are made up?? Other than that fiasco, everything else about Churchill Downs was great.
We purchased tickets for the Stakes Lounge. Worth every penny! $50 per person included a lovely brunch, a beautiful space to call our own for the day, and great views of the track from the attached balcony. We were first timers to the track, greeted warmly, escorted to the elevators, elevator was manned and we were greeted by name in the lounge. We had one server that took care of everything for us for the day, and even place a few small bets right there in the lounge. It was a lovely day!
Away from home on business having to stay over the weekend having never seen Churchill Downs except for on TV. Took advantage of the opportunity to see it in person. Much bigger than I expected, very friendly hosts. I had dinner in the stakes room with an excellent view of the track and the famous spires. The buffet was okay. Finished off by going through the museum. All in all it was an excellent day at the truck.
