Mayor Fischer Announces Cultural Pass Presented by Churchill Downs and Other Summer Learning Opportunities for Youth

LOUISVILLE (May 22, 2017) 

As school wraps up for the summer, Mayor Greg Fischer is reminding parents and caregivers that there are plenty of learning opportunities for Louisville students of all ages over the next three months.

During a news conference at the Newburg Library, the Mayor and others outlined a number of programs designed to keep kids engaged and prevent summer learning loss, including the Louisville Free Public Library’s Summer Reading program, and the 2017 Cultural Pass — presented by Churchill Downs in partnership with the Mayor’s Office, the library, the Arts and Culture Alliance and the Fund for the Arts.

“As parents, we all know that a week or so after classes end, the kids complain, ‘I’m bored!’ Well, there is no reason for any young person in Louisville to be bored this summer,” the Mayor said. “Thanks to partners like Churchill Downs, there is a long list of activities and learning opportunities to keep kids engaged.”

And in celebration of both the Library’s Summer Reading Program and the Cultural Pass, the Mayor announced, the Main Library will host the Super Summer Reading Kickoff and Cultural Pass Showcase on Saturday, June 3, from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. This free, family-friendly event will offer a plethora of activities, performances, and crafts featuring more than two dozen members of the Arts and Culture Alliance. Participating groups will include the Louisville Zoo, Kentucky Science Center, Frazier History Museum, Kentucky Shakespeare, and more. For more information, please visit LFPL.org/Kids or call (502) 574-1620.

The Cultural Pass supports and encourages lifelong learning by providing free access to 38 of Greater Louisville’s arts and cultural institutions for children and young adults to age 21. The Pass is valid from June 3 to Aug. 12 for one-time general admission at each of the participating institutions.

“The Cultural Pass is an incredible asset for our city,” said Churchill Downs Incorporated CEO Bill Carstanjen. “Churchill Downs is proud to sponsor such an important endeavor that enriches our great city.”

“The Cultural Pass turns our world-class arts and cultural institutions into summer classrooms for our community’s children and families,” said Christen Boone, Fund for the Arts President and CEO. “Churchill Downs’ support has been remarkable as we work together to reduce barriers to the arts for every child, parent and citizen of our community.”
The 2017 Cultural Pass and Summer Reading materials are available now at any Louisville Free Public Library branch and any Metro Louisville Community Center.

Pass holders can register and track the progress of their Cultural Pass online at www.lfpl.org/culturalpassand are encouraged to visit as many venues as they are able during the summer. Children with 5 or more documented visits receive a Cultural Pass giveaway prize and will be entered into a drawing to win additional prizes, including a free stay at 21C Museum Hotel, tickets to area performances like The Christmas Carol at Actors Theatre or Louisville Ballet’s Nutcracker, family memberships to Bernheim Forest, the Frazier History Museum, Gheens Science Hall and Planetarium, and more.

“The Arts and Culture Alliance is delighted to once again participate in this program, providing access to our arts and cultural organizations for thousands of youth in our area,” said Kim Baker, President and CEO of the Kentucky Center, and Chair of the ACA Executive Committee. “Our participating members look forward to providing memorable experiences this summer as we work together to make our community a vibrant place to live, learn, work and play.  We’re grateful to Churchill Downs, Fund for the Arts and Louisville Metro for this unique opportunity.”


About Fund for the Arts

Fund for the Arts is a regional nonprofit with the mission to maximize the arts to drive economic development, education, and quality of life in our community. The Fund conducts one of the oldest united arts campaigns in the country and supports world-class institutions, community organizations and arts in education. Fund for the Arts also hosts the nationally recognized NeXt leadership development program for young professionals and leads collective action across the arts and cultural sector. For more information, visit fundforthearts.org.

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 own and operate Derby City Gaming, a historical racing machine facility in Louisville, Kentucky. We also own and operate the largest online horse racing wagering platform in the U.S., TwinSpires.com, and we operate sports betting and iGaming through our BetAmerica platform in multiple states. 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.