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

LOUISVILLE (June 1, 2018) – School is out for the summer, and Mayor Greg Fischer is reminding parents and caregivers that there are plenty of fun, low-cost or free learning opportunities available for Louisville area students of all ages over the next three months.

During a news conference at the South Central Regional Library in Okolona, the Mayor and partner organizations 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 2018 Cultural Pass presented by Churchill Downs in partnership with Metro Louisville, the Free Public Library, the Arts and Culture Alliance, and Fund for the Arts.

“Lifelong learning means year-round learning. And with our Summer Reading Program, Cultural Pass, and other programs, parents and children have plenty of fun options this summer to keep kids’ minds active so they’re prepared for success in school and beyond,” Mayor Greg Fischer said. “I’m grateful to so many important partners in this effort, from Churchill Downs to the Fund for the Arts.”

The Cultural Pass supports and encourages lifelong learning by providing free access to 50 Greater Louisville’s arts and cultural institutions for children and young adults to age 21.

New this year, residents in three surrounding counties—New Albany/Floyd County, Jeffersonville Township, and Bullitt County—will also be eligible to participate in the 2018 Cultural Pass through their public libraries. Southern Indiana residents are eligible for the Cultural Pass for the first time thanks to support from Bales Foundation, Duke Energy, and Horseshoe Foundation of Floyd County.

The Pass is valid from June 1 to August 11 for one-time general admission at each of the 46 participating institutions.

“Our community is fortunate to have one of the most unique initiatives across the country to fight summer learning loss,” said Bill Carstanjen, Churchill Downs Incorporated CEO. “Churchill Downs is proud to continue supporting arts & cultural experiences that make our city stronger.”

“The Cultural Pass is a passport for Greater Louisville kids and families to unlock boundless creativity at our world-class arts & cultural institutions,” said Christen Boone, Fund for the Arts President and CEO. “We are deeply grateful to our donors and partners who make this one-of-a-kind initiative possible. This is a critical investment for our region that allows kids to learn, play, and grow all summer long.”

The 2018 Cultural Pass and Summer Reading Program materials are available now at any Louisville Free Public Library branch. Pass holders can register and track the progress of their Cultural Pass online at LFPL.org/culturalpass and are encouraged to visit as many venues as they are able during the summer. Children with 5 or more documented visits are entered into a drawing for 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 proud to be the part of the Cultural Pass that provides access to arts and culture,” said Kim Baker, Chair of the Arts and Culture Alliance. “We invite our community and the new surrounding counties participating, to experience all our amazing arts and cultural organizations have to offer!”

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.

Press Contacts

Nick Zangari
Vice President, Treasury, Investor Relations & Risk Management

Tonya Abeln
Vice President, Corporate Communications

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