Global Economic Diversity Development Initiative (GEDDI) Launches Membership Program with Churchill Downs Support

Churchill Downs Incorporated Pledges $25,000 for Black Fashion Exchange & Black Harvest

Louisville, KY (October 19, 2020) – The Global Economic Diversity Development Initiative (GEDDI, pronounced JED-EYE) has just launched their new membership program to fund its mission that serves as a worldwide giving choice for Racial Equity and Economic Justice initiatives, that in turn create generational wealth that meets present and future needs through creative and well-thought-out grant-making perpetually. The new membership platform will be the hub for GEDDI members to interact with like-minded individuals and organizations to further conversations and to play a role in GEDDI’s efforts to build economic wealth for the black community in the following areas: workforce opportunities,  economic empowerment, supply chain opportunities, leadership and development and business acceleration.

“As a Black female entrepreneur I’ve always been acutely aware of the disparities that existed for me, yet when COVID-19 hit, America showed us, it was bigger than a disparity,” says founder Tawana Bain. “GEDDI is not a want for the black community, it’s a necessity. It is our responsibility as Americans to ensure we all have a source to turn to when systems in society are not designed equally for everyone.”

There are several membership options available for those who want to contribute to GEDDI’s core mission, including corporate, organizational, and individual memberships.  Depending on membership level, members will receive access to exclusive reporting, learning management system, a job board for diverse qualified candidates, discounts to exclusive and diverse events, and an inclusive community. Membership registration is available now at www.geddi.org.

Churchill Downs Incorporated, a corporate donor of GEDDI, has pledged $25,000 for the programs: Black Fashion Exchange – a fashion business incubator for Black-led fashion retailers; and The Collective’s The Black Harvest – a new cultural event for Louisville scheduled for October 31.

“Churchill Downs is pleased to support GEDDI’s launch and applauds their focus on building economic wealth for the Black community,” said Churchill Downs Incorporated Director of Community Relations Cathy Shircliff. “As a multi-year partner of the Derby Diversity Business Summit, we look forward with excitement to the multitude of additional valuable programs that will result from this effort.”


About Churchill Downs Incorporated

Churchill Downs Incorporated is an industry-leading racing, online wagering and gaming entertainment company anchored by our iconic flagship event, the Kentucky Derby. We also own and operate three pari-mutual gaming entertainment venues in Kentucky: Derby City Gaming; Oak Grove Racing, Gaming, and Hotel; and Newport Racing and Gaming. Our online wagering business owns and operates TwinSpires.com, the largest and most profitable online horse racing wagering platform in the U.S., and BetAmerica, an online sports betting and iGaming platform in the U.S. We are also a leader in brick-and-mortar casino gaming with approximately 11,000 slot machines and video lottery terminals and 200 table games in eight states. Additional information about CDI can be found online at www.churchilldownsincorporated.com.

Information set forth in this news release contains various “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the “Act”), which provides certain “safe harbor” provisions. All forward-looking statements made in this news release are made pursuant to the Act. 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,” and similar words, 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 effect of economic conditions on our consumers’ confidence and discretionary spending or our access to credit; additional or increased taxes and fees; public perceptions or lack of confidence in the integrity of our business or any deterioration in our reputation; loss of key or highly skilled personnel; restrictions in our debt facilities limiting our flexibility to operate our business; general risks related to real estate ownership, including fluctuations in market values and environmental regulations; catastrophic events and system failures disrupting our operations; online security risk, including cyber-security breaches; inability to recover under our insurance policies for damages sustained at our properties in the event of inclement weather and casualty events; increases in insurance costs and inability to obtain similar insurance coverage in the future; inability to identify and complete acquisition, expansion or divestiture projects, on time, on budget or as planned; difficulty in integrating recent or future acquisitions into our operations; costs and uncertainties relating to the development of new venues and expansion of existing facilities; risks associated with equity investments, strategic alliances and other third-party agreements; inability to respond to rapid technological changes in a timely manner; inadvertent infringement of the intellectual property of others; inability to protect our own intellectual property rights; payment-related risks, such as risk associated with fraudulent credit card and debit card use; compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act or applicable money-laundering regulations; risks related to pending or future legal proceedings and other actions; inability to negotiate agreements with industry constituents, including horsemen and other racetracks; work stoppages and labor issues; changes in consumer preferences with respect to Churchill Downs Racetrack and the Kentucky Derby; personal injury litigation related to injuries occurring at our racetracks; weather and other conditions affecting our ability to conduct live racing; the occurrence of extraordinary events, such as terrorist attacks and public health threats, including the ongoing impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19 virus); changes in the regulatory environment of our racing operations; increased competition in the horseracing business; difficulty in attracting a sufficient number of horses and trainers for full field horseraces; our inability to utilize and provide totalizator services; changes in regulatory environment of our online horseracing business; number of people wagering on live horse races; increase in competition in our online horseracing; uncertainty and changes in the legal landscape relating to our online wagering business; continued legalization of online sports betting and iGaming in the United States and our ability to predict and capitalize on any such legalization; inability to expand our sports betting operations and effectively compete; failure to manage risks associated with sports betting; failure to comply with laws requiring us to block access to certain individuals could result in penalties or impairment with respect to our mobile and online wagering products; increased competition in our casino business; changes in regulatory environment of our casino business; and concentration and evolution of slot machine manufacturing and other technology conditions that could impose additional costs; and inability to collect gaming receivables from the customers to whom we extend credit.