Churchill Downs Emphasizes Safety Ahead of 2019 Kentucky Derby

Apr 18, 2019

Churchill Downs Incorporated (“CDI”) (Nasdaq: CHDN) today announced significant initiatives to improve safety protocols and procedures ahead of the 145^th running of the Kentucky Derby. These initiatives highlight the company’s strong and ongoing commitment to equine and jockey safety.

 

Churchill Downs’ initiatives include:

 

·        Investing $8 million to build a state-of-the-art Equine Medical Center, Quarantine Facility and related capital improvements on the backside of Churchill Downs Race Track. The Equine Medical Center, which is slated to open in March 2020, will be used for every-day equine therapeutic purposes as well as immediate and advanced onsite care in the event of injury. Churchill Downs Race Track will also have a temporary Equine Medical Center in place for the 2019 Kentucky Derby. The Quarantine Facility will permit horses from other countries to fly directly to Kentucky and eliminate long, taxing van rides when racing at Kentucky venues. It will also provide a world-class facility for isolating, monitoring and treating horses who may suffer from contagious equine diseases.

 

·        Advocating for reforms to race-day medication practices. Furosemide (often referred to by the brand name, Lasix) is the only race-day medication permitted in U.S. horse racing. While the therapeutic use of Lasix on race-days is the subject of significant debate with recognized equine experts and veterinarians on both sides, Churchill Downs unequivocally supports (x) the elimination of Lasix for 2-year-old horses by 2020 and in all stakes races beginning in 2021 and (y) the immediate reduction in the maximum dosage of Lasix from 10 cc to 5 cc for all horses who race at U.S. tracks. Churchill Downs will advocate in the strongest possible terms with Kentucky regulators and the regulators of other U.S. racing jurisdictions to achieve this result and it is our intention to run the 2021 Kentucky Derby without the permitted use of Lasix.

 

·        Creating an independent, national Office of Racing Integrity (ORI). Churchill Downs will work with other industry leaders to immediately form and fund a new organization dedicated to developing and sharing best practices and research in horseracing. The national organization will also extensively advocate with state regulators for fair, robust and uniform regulation of the industry to better protect horses, jockeys, trainers, owners, fans and the betting public. We will announce an executive leader for the organization and its initial membership in the coming weeks.

 

·        Adopting of international standards for crop use. While the low-impact riding crop is an essential aid to safe horsemanship, its use should be humane and limited to safety, course correction and responsible encouragement. Once Kentucky regulators update the applicable regulations, we will immediately adopt the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) model rules that govern the use of the low-impact riding crop worldwide. Churchill Downs Race Track will be among the nation’s first track to adopt these standards. We support, and will advocate for, the IFHA model rules in all U.S. racing jurisdictions.

 

·        Formalizing concussion protocol to maximize jockey safety. While Churchill Downs has a proven record of delivering immediate care to riders via onsite doctors and nurses, we are taking additional steps to formalize our concussion policies. This includes more thorough jockey education, baseline concussion testing, onsite evaluation after a fall and additional return-to-ride requirements.

 

·        Hiring an Equine Medical Director to oversee safety and care at all CDI properties. This position will be responsible for implementing and enforcing all equine safety protocols and procedures, investigating and documenting all safety incidents and collecting and analyzing race data in order to implement evidence-based best practices across Churchill Downs’ properties. The Equine Medical Director will also be externally focused to better educate owners, trainers, and others in our industry about safety practices.

 

·        Installing camera surveillance. Over the next three years, Churchill Downs Race Track will greatly expand camera surveillance across the approximately 55 acres of backside operations, including the installing of 24-hour surveillance cameras in every barn, stall and common area to better ensure the physical safety and security of horses, personnel and visitors.

 

·        Advocating for additional equine mediation reforms. Churchill Downs will advocate immediately with applicable regulatory authorities for increased withdrawal times for nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and cortico-steroids so that horses can be more adequately evaluated during pre-race veterinary examinations. We will also continue our strong financial support and advocacy for high quality drug testing as well as the mission of the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium to extend its accreditation program to measure not only the capabilities of testing labs but to also verify what testing is being performed.

 

·        Industry Research. Churchill Downs commits $100,000 of additional financial support to fund key scientific research projects geared toward improving the safety and welfare of race horses, particularly with respect improving treatment options for joint and leg injuries.

 

These measures will build upon Churchill Downs’ robust “Safety from Start to Finish” program, which first launched in 2009 and is updated each year.

 

“All of us in the industry care deeply about the safety and well-being of race horses, and we know how much they mean to the people who love and care for them,” said Bill Carstanjen, CEO of Churchill Downs Incorporated. “As the host of the Kentucky Derby and a key leader in the racing industry, Churchill Downs has a heightened responsibility to implement the world’s best practices for caring for racehorses at our facilities. We also have a responsibility to educate and advocate so that others do so as well. Over the last several years, the landscape for animal welfare and safety practices has changed for the better, and we will continue to embrace this progress and move forward with advancements to improve the health and welfare of our equine as well as human athletes. Our leadership and commitment to these important issues will never waiver.”

 

About Churchill Downs Incorporated

Churchill Downs Incorporated (“CDI”) (Nasdaq: CHDN), headquartered in Louisville, Ky., is an industry-leading racing, gaming and online entertainment company anchored by our iconic flagship event -- The Kentucky Derby. We own and operate the largest legal online horseracing wagering platform in the U.S., through our TwinSpires business. We are also a leader in brick-and-mortar casino gaming with approximately 11,000 slot machines and VLTs and approximately 200 table games in eight states after our acquisition of a majority interest in Rivers Casino in Des Plaines, Illinois and the Lady Luck Nemacolin transaction. In August 2018, we launched our BetAmerica Sportsbook at our two Mississippi casino properties and have announced plans to enter additional U.S. sports betting and iGaming markets. Derby City Gaming, the first historical racing machine (“HRM”) facility in Louisville, Kentucky, was opened in September 2018 with 900 HRM machines.