Churchill Downs is a racetrack in Louisville, Kentucky. The thoroughbred racetrack was officially opened in 1875. The Kentucky Derby is one of the most famous races to be held in this venue. Churchill Downs has also been home to the widely known Breeder’s Cup eight times and held the most recent race meeting in 2011. Both the Kentucky Derby and the Kentucky Oaks were held in the same year when the racecourse opened. During these race meetings, horseracing attracts scores of fans and racing enthusiasts. Each fan who wants to enjoy the thrill of horseracing can get to see the races as the racecourse holds a maximum capacity of 170,000 with the infield opened. The expansive racecourse is considered to be in the top five best places to hold race meetings.
Churchill Downs was named to honour John and Henry Churchill who rented the first 80 acres of land that was used to start the racecourse. The racetrack was received warmly by the locals as it was seen as a replacement for two previous tracks that were closed in the area, namely Woodlawn and Oakland. At its opening, the racecourse was stationed in a rural location where horses would be brought by train through the Louisville and Nashville Railroad tracks, which was the easiest way to get horses to the racecourse.
In 1907, James Lee, an African-American jockey, set a record that still remains. On June 5th of that year, the jockey won all six races at Churchill Downs, a feat that has never been repeated to date. Through the years, the racecourse has prospered so much that the Kentucky Derby has developed into the foremost stakes race for thoroughbred horses three years old in North America.
Aside from horseracing, the venue also collects a lot of revenue hosting other events and entertaining guests thanks to the $121 million renovation plan
kicked off in 2001. The renovation included 79 luxury suites as well as refurbishing the historic twin spikes emblematic to the racecourse.