Winsday Returns with Even Greater Community Impact, Celebrating Local Nonprofits During Kentucky Derby Week

Louisville, KY., (May 6, 2026)  – Churchill Downs, in partnership with the Community Foundation of Louisville, celebrated another successful Winsday, presented by Resolute Racing, during Kentucky Derby Week. The annual event is dedicated to supporting local nonprofits and spotlighting the important work they do to make the Kentuckiana region a more vibrant place to live, work and play. 

More than just a day at the races, Winsday has grown into a meaningful community initiative that connects guests with causes that matter. By purchasing tickets through one of 50 participating nonprofit organizations, attendees not only enjoyed the excitement of Derby Week, but also directly supported vital work happening across the community. 

This year’s event saw a 9% increase in financial impact compared to its inaugural year. More than 1,000 tickets were sold through participating nonprofits, reflecting the continued momentum and strong community support behind Winsday.

“Winsday is an opportunity for our community to come together and support local nonprofits that make a real difference every day,” said Claire Simms, Senior Director of Corporate Social Responsibility at Churchill Downs Incorporated. “We’re proud to partner with the Community Foundation of Louisville to help shine a light on the incredible work they do.”

“There’s something really special about seeing our community come together to support local nonprofits,” said Christina Miller, Director of Marketing and Communications at the Community Foundation of Louisville. “We’re grateful to work alongside Churchill Downs to highlight these organizations and the impact they have across our region.”

Through prize funding provided by Churchill Downs, every participating nonprofit walked away a winner. Organizations had the opportunity to earn additional funds through a variety of drawings and competitions, with a guaranteed $500 participation award for those not receiving other prizes.

Charity Post Draw Highlights

One of Winsday’s signature moments, the Charity Post Draw, brought the excitement of the Kentucky Derby to participating nonprofits. Twenty organizations were randomly paired with official Derby post positions, with prize amounts determined by their assigned horse’s finishing position.

Top winners included:

  • $20,000 (Win): Ed Hamilton Studio & Visitors Center (Post 16 – Golden Tempo)
  • $15,000 (Place): Louisville Outreach for the Unsheltered (Post 1 – Renegade)
  • $10,000 (Show): Louisville Chorus (Post 17 – Ocelli)

Organizations placing 4th through 20th each received $2,500, benefiting a wide range of nonprofits, including Exploited Children’s Help Organization (ECHO), Mercy Academy, Animal Care Society and Olmsted Parks Conservancy.

Additional Funding Opportunities

Winsday also included several other ways for nonprofits to receive funding beyond the Post Draw:

  • Second Chance Drawing ($2,000 each):
    • People Advocating Recovery
    • Breakthrough Louisville
    • Cabbage Patch Settlement House
  • Supporter Drawing ($2,000 each):
    These awards, driven by ticket purchasers, recognized both nonprofits and the supporters who helped champion their causes. Winners included:
    • Seth’s Squad (supporter Michelle W.)
    • Camberwell Grief Sanctuary (supporter Joseph G.)
    • Tatiana’s Light in the Darkness (supporter Erica C.)
    • GCCS Educational Foundation (supporter Emily O.)

Recognizing Top Fundraisers

Three organizations were recognized for their outstanding ticket sales efforts:

  1. Cedar Lake Foundation, Inc. – 104 tickets sold ($1,500 prize)
  2. Animal Care Society – 67 tickets sold ($1,000 prize)
  3. All In, Inc. – 65 tickets sold ($500 prize)

Strengthening Community Through Partnership

Winsday brings together Churchill Downs and the Community Foundation of Louisville in support of the nonprofits doing essential work across our community. By pairing Derby Week with a spirit of giving back, the event helps raise both funds and awareness for local organizations. 

Each year, Winsday continues to grow, creating more opportunities to support nonprofits throughout Louisville and beyond. 

For more information about Winsday and participating organizations, visit https://www.cflouisville.org/events/winsday/ or https://www.churchilldowns.com/visit/calendar-events/winsday/.


About Churchill Downs Incorporated 

Churchill Downs Incorporated (“CDI”) (Nasdaq: CHDN) has created extraordinary entertainment experiences for over 150 years, beginning with the company’s most iconic and enduring asset, the Kentucky Derby. Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, CDI has expanded through the acquisition, development, and operation of live and historical racing entertainment venues, the growth of the online wagering businesses, and the acquisition, development, and operation of regional casino gaming properties. https://www.churchilldownsincorporated.com/

Use of Non-GAAP Measures 

In addition to the results provided in accordance with GAAP, the Company also uses non-GAAP measures, including adjusted net income, adjusted diluted EPS, EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization), and Adjusted EBITDA. 

The Company uses non-GAAP measures as a key performance measure of the results of operations for purposes of evaluating performance internally. These measures facilitate comparison of operating performance between periods and help investors to better understand the operating results of the Company by excluding certain items that may not be indicative of the Company’s core business or operating results. The Company believes the use of these measures enables management and investors to evaluate and compare, from period to period, the Company’s operating performance in a meaningful and consistent manner. The non-GAAP measures are a supplemental measure of our performance that is not required by, or presented in accordance with, GAAP, and should not be considered as an alternative to, or more meaningful than, net income or diluted EPS (as determined in accordance with GAAP) as a measure of our operating results. 

We use Adjusted EBITDA to evaluate segment performance, develop strategy, and allocate resources. We utilize the Adjusted EBITDA metric to provide a more accurate measure of our core operating results and enable management and investors to evaluate and compare from period to period our operating performance in a meaningful and consistent manner. Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered as an alternative to operating income as an indicator of performance, as an alternative to cash flows from operating activities as a measure of liquidity, or as an alternative to any other measure provided in accordance with GAAP. Our calculation of Adjusted EBITDA may be different from the calculation used by other companies and, therefore, comparability may be limited. 

Adjusted net income and adjusted diluted EPS exclude discontinued operations net income or loss; net income or loss attributable to noncontrolling interests; transaction expense, which includes acquisition and disposition related charges, as well as legal, accounting, and other deal-related expense; pre-opening expense; and certain other gains, charges, recoveries, and expenses. 

Adjusted EBITDA includes our portion of EBITDA from our equity investments and the portion of EBITDA attributable to noncontrolling interests. 

Adjusted EBITDA excludes, as applicable in each period: 

  • Transaction expense, net which includes: 
  • Acquisition, disposition, and property sale related charges; and 
  • Other transaction expense, including legal, accounting, and other deal-related expense; 
  • Stock-based compensation expense; 
  • Rivers Des Plaines’ impact on our investments in unconsolidated affiliates from legal reserves and transaction costs; 
  • Asset impairments, net; 
  • Gain on property sales; 
  • Legal reserves; 
  • Pre-opening expense; and 
  • Other charges, recoveries, and expenses. 

This news release contains various “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by the use of terms such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “predict,” “project,” “seek,” “should,” “will,” “scheduled,” and similar words or similar expressions (or negative versions of such words or expressions), although some forward-looking statements are expressed differently. 

Although we believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Important factors, that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations include the following: the occurrence of extraordinary events, such as terrorist attacks, public health threats, civil unrest, and inclement weather, including as a result of climate change; the effect of economic conditions on our consumers’ confidence and discretionary spending or our access to credit, including the impact of inflation; changes in, or new interpretations of, applicable tax laws or rulings that could result in additional tax liabilities; the impact of any pandemics, epidemics, or outbreaks of infectious diseases, and related economic matters on our results of operations, financial conditions and prospects; lack of confidence in the integrity of our core businesses or any deterioration in our reputation; negative shifts in public opinion regarding gambling that could result in increased regulation of, or new restrictions on, the gaming industry; loss of key or highly skilled personnel, as well as general disruptions in the general labor market; the impact of significant competition, and the expectation that competition levels will increase; changes in consumer preferences, attendance, wagering, and sponsorships; risks associated with equity investments, strategic alliances and other third-party agreements; inability to respond to rapid technological changes in a timely manner; concentration and evolution of slot machine and historical racing machine (“HRM”) manufacturing and other technology conditions that could impose additional costs; failure to enter into or maintain agreements with industry constituents, including horsemen and other racetracks; cybersecurity risk, including cyber-security breaches, or loss or misuse of our confidential information as a result of a breach including customers’ personal information, or IT system operational disruptions, could lead to government enforcement actions or other litigation; costs of compliance with increasingly complex laws and regulations regarding data privacy and protection of personal information; reliance on our technology services and catastrophic events, system failures, errors or defects disrupting our operations; inability to identify, complete, or fully realize the benefits of our proposed acquisitions, divestitures, development of new venues or the expansion of existing facilities on time, on budget, or as planned; difficulty in integrating recent or future acquisitions into our operations; cost overruns and other uncertainties associated with the development of new venues and the expansion of existing facilities; general risks related to real estate ownership and significant expenditures, including risks related to environmental liabilities; personal injury litigation related to injuries occurring at our racetracks; compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act or other similar laws and regulations, or applicable anti-money laundering regulations; payment-related risks, such as risk associated with fraudulent credit card or debit card use; work stoppages and labor problems; risks related to pending or future legal proceedings and other actions; highly regulated operations and changes in the regulatory environment could adversely affect our business; restrictions in our debt facilities limiting our flexibility to operate our business; failure to comply with the financial ratios and other covenants in our debt facilities and other indebtedness; increases to interest rates, disruption in the credit markets or changes to our credit ratings may adversely affect our business; increase in our insurance costs, or inability to obtain similar insurance coverage in the future, and any inability to recover under our insurance policies for damages sustained at our properties in the event of inclement weather and casualty events; and other factors described under the heading “Risk Factors” in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and in other filings we make with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 

We do not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. 


Churchill Downs Incorporated

Phone: 502-636-4506

Email: [email protected]

Golden Tempo Wins the 152nd Running of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve  

Churchill Downs Incorporated (Nasdaq: CHDN) (the “Company”, “CDI”, “we”) announced today that Golden Tempo claimed the Garland of Roses at the 152nd running of the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve under partly sunny skies and the cheers of over 150,000 exuberant fans. 

Golden Tempo, owned and bred by Phipps Stable and St. Elias Stable, trained by Cherie DeVaux, and ridden by Jose Ortiz, raced to the finish to win by a neck at 23-1 odds. Golden Tempo covered the mile and a quarter in 2:02.27 over a fast track. Sired by Curlin, Golden Tempo now has lifetime earnings of over $3.4 million. Cherie DeVaux made history as the first woman ever to train a Kentucky Derby winner. Jose Ortiz rode to victory in both the 152nd Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby. 

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Churchill Downs Incorporated (Nasdaq: CHDN) (the “Company”, “CDI”, “we”) announced today that Always A Runner captured the Lilies in the 152nd running of the Longines Kentucky Oaks, topping a field of 13 fillies on fast track conditions. Under the lights of Churchill Downs Racetrack, over 103,000 enthusiastic fans gathered to witness America’s premier race for 3-year-old fillies, highlighted by a spectacular twilight finish. 

NBC Sports and Peacock broadcast the Kentucky Oaks in primetime for the first time, marking a significant step in expanding viewership and reaching new audiences.

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Churchill Downs Racetrack (“Churchill Downs”) today unveiled its enhanced lineup of events, guest appearances and charitable efforts set to define the 152nd Longines Kentucky Oaks, America’s premier race for three-year old fillies held on Friday, May 1. 

For the first time ever, the Kentucky Oaks will be broadcast in primetime on NBC and Peacock, with coverage beginning at 8:00pm E.T. for an 8:40pm E.T. post time. The evening broadcast will bring the energy of Oaks Day under the lights to a broader national audience, building momentum ahead of the 152nd Kentucky Derby® the following day. The broadcast will include a national anthem performance by Tony Award winner and vocal superstar, Nicole Scherzinger.

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