New Churchill Downs Sports Bar To Open By Sept. 7 Sports Betting Launch

Written By Matthew Bain on July 27, 2023
New sports bar at Churchill Downs

Churchill Downs, the most iconic horse racetrack in the country and the home of the Kentucky Derby, will open a new sports bar in its simulcast facility in time for the launch of Kentucky retail sports betting on Sept. 7.

That’s according to Churchill Downs Inc. CEO Bill Carstanjen, who shared updates about CDI on Thursday during the company’s second quarter earnings call.

Sportsbooks at all Churchill Downs HHR facilities

In addition to the Churchill Downs sports bar, Carstanjen also said CDI will open retail sportsbooks or sports bars at all of its historical horse racing facilities. That list includes Derby City Gaming, Derby City Gaming Downtown (set to open in late 2023), Oak Grove Racing & Gaming, Newport Racing & Gaming, Turfway Park Racing & Gaming, and Ellis Park Racing & Gaming.

Including the sports bar at Churchill Downs, that will be six retail Kentucky sports betting locations for CDI.

Carstanjen mentioned during the call that there will be multiple online sports betting partners for CDI, but he did not list any specifically other than FanDuel Kentucky — and that partnership has been public knowledge for several weeks.

“We are still in the process of finalizing a few of our online partner deals and will announce them once complete,” CDI vice president of communications Tonya Abeln told PlayKentucky on July 12. “Of course we are thrilled that FanDuel is among them.”

On Thursday, Abeln told PlayKentucky that CDI would not attach brands to any of its retail sportsbooks. That means that FanDuel and any other brands CDI works with will exclusively be online partners.

There are 14 venues eligible to host retail sportsbooks in Kentucky. They are:

  • Churchill Downs
  • Keeneland
  • Kentucky Downs
  • Derby City Gaming
  • Derby City Gaming Downtown
  • The Mint Gaming Hall in Bowling Green
  • Oak Grove Racing & Gaming
  • Newport Racing & Gaming
  • Ellis Park Racing & Gaming
  • Ellis Park extension site (location TBD)
  • Red Mile Racing & Gaming
  • Sandy’s Racing & Gaming
  • Cumberland Run
  • Turfway Park Racing & Gaming

Of those 14 venues, CDI owns eight. Two — Derby City Gaming Downtown and the Ellis Park extension site — aren’t yet open.

Carstanjen said, after a potential location for its Ellis Park extension site fell through earlier this year, CDI has selected a new location east of Owensboro and is in the permitting and site planning process. He said more details would be available in the next earning call.

Revenue up 31.9% for CDI

Overall, CDI reported a revenue of $768.5 million in the second quarter. That’s a 31.9% net revenue increase from the $582.5 million CDI made in the second quarter of 2022.

The company saw a particularly significant growth in revenue from its live Kentucky horse racing and HHR machines segment. Those areas grew 48% in revenue and 36% in adjusted EBITDA compared to the second quarter of 2022.

Photo by AP Photo/Darron Cummings
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Matthew Bain

Matthew Bain started as a Content Manager for PlayKentucky and other Catena Media sites in 2022. He covered the launch of Massachusetts sports betting and the Prop 26 vs. Prop 27 battle in California. Before that, he spent six years as a sports reporter and then deputy sports editor for the Des Moines Register, during which time he won nine statewide journalism awards, including the Genevieve Mauck Stoufer Outstanding Young Iowa Journalists Award. As deputy sports editor, Matthew oversaw the Register's recruiting coverage while also innovating the outlet's high school sports coverage. Matthew graduated from San Diego State and grew up in California, but he's somehow a Boston Celtics fan. Long story.

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