Churchill adding premium Derby owner seats
Churchill Downs will spend $4.2 million revamping prime areas beneath its Twin Spires to improve the number of seats — and amenities — provided to owners of Kentucky Derby and Oaks horses while displacing about 120 box holders currently in the area.
Track officials said Wednesday that the change is not a direct response to criticisms by some owners of this year's Derby horses about their experiences — including one of the owners of winner California Chrome — but their concerns about ease of access and treatment were heard.
The new area for Derby owners, called the Winner's Circle Suites, will be covered by an awning — but not enclosed — and feature private restrooms and complimentary food and beverage service. Each owner will have up to 18 seats free — triple what this year's owners got — in that area and the ability to buy boxes in section 318.
A grass strip called the Courtyard will be put in front of the suites with about 600 chairs added and sold for Derby and Oaks in packages that will include food and access to a hospitality area with restrooms. Track officials envision the Courtyard as a park-like setting the rest of the year, according to the announcement.
"There are many wonderful seating options at Churchill Downs for the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks but these new Winner's Circle Suites are where anyone who has ever owned or dreamed of owning a racehorse wants to be," track President Kevin Flanery said in a statement. "We're thrilled to make this investment and truly thank our Derby and Oaks owners by creating an exclusive area that will provide more complimentary tickets, food and beverage and other extraordinary amenities than ever before."
Ken Ramsey, who with his wife Sarah had two horses in this year's Derby, welcomed the announcement, saying that he couldn't get a handicap seat on Oaks Day last year for his wife, who has been in a wheelchair since having a stroke several years ago.
"That's wonderful news," Ramsey said of the new seating area, "and I hope I have one in the Derby this (coming) year and we can make use of it."
Churchill plans to contact all of the box holders who will be displaced by the renovation within the next couple days and bring them in individually to attempt to find comparable seating for them. With the changes, about 1,500 seats will be lost — with 1,800 in the redesigned areas compared to 3,345 there now.
For the remainder of Derby week, the Courtyard seats will be offered to existing ticket holders first, Churchill's announcement said. What they don't purchase will be sold in an online sale in mid-November. Registration for the online sale has been extended to Nov. 7.
In the renovation, the daily winner's circle will move next to the paddock tunnel, closer to its previous location.
Construction is to begin in December and is to be completed by the spring meet opening April 25. The project was designed by Populous, which Churchill said is the Kansas City firm that also designed the KFC Yum! Center. The general contractor has not been named.
What the changes will mean for racing on a daily basis wasn't immediately clear — the renovated area is one of the most popular general admission spots for daily racegoers.
The Derby owner boxes give the track revenue opportunities at other times of the year, including night racing.
The investment is the latest for Louisville-based Churchill Downs Inc., at its landmark racetrack where the value of its signature race continues to grow. The casino and racing company has increased Kentucky Derby week's profitability — before taxes and other factors — by $30.6 million since 2008.
That increase is due in part to Churchill spending more than $178 million since 2001 on renovations and improvements at the Central Avenue track, including luxury suites, the 300-seat finish line Mansion, a new clubhouse, lights and this year's $14.5 million Grandstand Terrace and $12 million giant video board.
The Mansion project was part of a $9 million renovation that included adding the 218-seat Plaza Balcony, a premium seating area overlooking the paddock without a view of the races.
"Churchill Downs has proudly offered racing since 1875, and these substantial investments in our iconic landmark signify that we're committed to ensuring the Kentucky Derby, Kentucky Oaks and our everyday racing product remain viable and one of the region's major economic engines for many years to come," Flanery said in the statement.
While Churchill annually provides a measure of the growth in profitability in Derby week, the company does not release the track's total Derby week profit.
While financially successful, this year's Derby also saw criticism of the track, including by at least two Derby horse owners.
California Chrome co-owner Perry Martin complained about his wheelchair-bound mother's view of the Derby being blocked at the rail. The owners of Derby participant Wildcat Red complained that they had trouble getting hotel rooms and that they had to walk to the taxi compound at Fourth and Central when a driver they hired did not show after the race.
Martin did not return a call on Wednesday.
Reporter Gregory A. Hall can be reached at (502) 582-4087. Follow him on Twitter at @gregoryahall.