WAVE 3 TV Louisville, KY | Night racing to become permanent fixture at Churchill Downs

Night racing to become permanent fixture at Churchill Downs

By Connie Leonard - bio | email
Posted By Mike Dever - email

LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - Bring on the lights! That was the word Monday afternoon from Churchill Downs. The success of night racing has led Churchill Downs officials to install permanent lights at the legendary race track.

Track officials say making night racing permanent is a no-brainer. The 3-night experiment during the 2009 spring meet far exceeded expectations when it attracted almost 90,000 fans.

Track official Darren Rogers seemed excited about the news. "The Churchill Downs Board of Directors gave us the green light to install permanent track lighting!"

Calling it something very special, Rogers is was happy to announce night racing is here to stay at the home of the Kentucky Derby.  He says night racing was something that was part of the original $121 million expansion in 2001, but budget cuts killed funding for the lights until 2007.

"Bob Evans, the CEO of Churchill Downs, challenged the team in 2007 to come up with some different and provocative ways to transform Churchill Downs - not just into a racetrack but a racing and entertainment venue," Rogers said. 

Night racing came back up during the recent spring meet, and after careful review of the 3-night experiment in June and July the average attendance was 29,705 fans a night. Even after the opening night blunder when a lack of staff led to long concession lines, fans still came back in droves for the second and third - including a whopping 33,481 fans the final night - to top total attendance at more than 89,000. 

"We were thrilled and absolutely delighted that our fans gave us a second chance!" Rogers said. 

Despite current racing woes and the struggling economy, Churchill officials believe they are making a smart investment in the track's future. 

For longtime race fans like Bobby Jones and Roger Jaggers, night racing was a lot of fun and a good way to bring a younger crowd into the sport they love. 

"It brought out people that never come to the races and you could almost tell the ones that never been here before just by looking at the crowd," Rogers recalled.

Jones was at Churchill Downs trackside Monday afternoon, and remarked on the small size of the crowd. "A day like today, there's very few players out here, just the hardcore players, but on those Friday nights and the dancing and the party, it was really nice!" 

Churchill Downs will solicit bids from lighting contractors and hope to have the lights installed in time for the 2010 spring meet. 

Track officials say they'll poll both fans and horsemen to determine how many nights of racing they will add to the meet. 

And just in case you were wondering, there aren't any plans to hold the Kentucky Derby under the lights just yet.  

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