Renaissance Provides Students Unlimited Access to Digital Books and News Articles with the Kentucky Derby

Partnering with the Kentucky Derby, Renaissance is providing unlimited access to thousands of enhanced digital books and age-appropriate news articles this summer to third-grade students in the Bluegrass State

Bloomington, Minn. (April 26, 2021)  Renaissance, a global leader in technology-enhanced literacy, is providing third-grade students in Kentucky access to myON, Renaissance’s digital reading platform, from June 1 – August 31, 2021, through a partnership with the Kentucky Derby.

Designed to get reading materials into the hands of students, the all-new “Read to the Races” initiative ties into the excitement of the Kentucky Derby and encourages students to keep reading and learning throughout the summer months. Students will be able to log in to myON using school-level shared accounts and choose from thousands of age-appropriate digital books and daily news articles.

To add to the fun, participating districts will be entered automatically into a reading challenge. Schools from the districts with the highest average time spent reading by their students this summer will be recognized in a variety of ways.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Renaissance and help students stay on track as they continue reading and learning during the summer months,” said Cathy Shircliff, Director of Community Relations for Churchill Downs. “We urge families to join us by encouraging students to read with myON every day!”

“The Kentucky Derby is sending a strong message to students across the Bluegrass State about the importance of reading,” said Alysse Daniels, Regional Vice President at Renaissance. “We are looking forward to supporting these efforts and celebrating the results with them!”

myON provides students with 24/7 access to thousands of fiction and nonfiction digital books and news articles—in English, Spanish, and additional languages. Students can read online with myON wherever they have access to the Internet, including in low-bandwidth locations. Students can even download digital books to read offline using free mobile apps—providing additional opportunities to read.

For more information, visit www.renaissance.com/kyreadtotheraces.

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 three pari-mutuel gaming entertainment venues with approximately 3,050 historical racing machines in Kentucky. We also own and operate TwinSpires, one of the largest and most profitable online wagering platforms for horse racing, sports and iGaming in the U.S. and we have seven retail sportsbooks. We are also a leader in brick-and-mortar casino gaming in eight states with approximately 11,000 slot machines and video lottery terminals and 200 table games. Additional information about CDI can be found online at www.churchilldownsincorporated.com.

About Renaissance

As a global leader in assessment, reading, and math solutions for pre-K–12 schools and districts, Renaissance is committed to providing educators with insights and resources to accelerate growth and help all students build a strong foundation for success. Renaissance solutions are used in over one-third of US schools and in more than 100 countries worldwide. The Renaissance portfolio includes Star Assessments, for reliable, accurate insights into K–12 student learning; myIGDIs, for accurate assessment of early learning; myON, to increase students’ access to high-quality reading materials; Accelerated Reader, to support independent reading practice; Freckle, for teacher-led differentiated instruction; Schoolzilla, to give educators actionable insights into trends in student attendance and achievement; Lalilo, to develop critical foundational skills; and Nearpod, for teacher-facilitated instructional delivery. For more information, visit www.renaissance.com..

Certain statements made in this news release contain 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,” and similar words or similar expressions (or negative versions of such words or expressions). 

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, among others, that may materially affect actual results or outcomes include the following: the impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and related economic matters on our results of operations, financial conditions and prospects; the occurrence of extraordinary events, such as terrorist attacks, public health threats, civil unrest, and inclement weather; the effect of economic conditions on our consumers' confidence and discretionary spending or our access to credit; additional or increased taxes and fees; the impact of significant competition, and the expectation the competition levels will increase; changes in consumer preferences, attendance, wagering, and sponsorships; loss of key or highly skilled personnel; lack of confidence in the integrity of our core businesses or any deterioration in our reputation; 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 manufacturing and other technology conditions that could impose additional costs; inability to negotiate agreements with industry constituents, including horsemen and other racetracks; inability to successfully expand our TwinSpires Sports and Casino business and effectively compete; inability to identify and complete expansion, acquisition 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; general risks related to real estate ownership and significant expenditures, including fluctuations in market values and environmental regulations; reliance on our technology services and catastrophic events and system failures disrupting our operations; online security risk, including cyber-security breaches, or loss or misuse of our stored information as a result of a breach, including customers’ personal information, could lead to government enforcement actions or other litigation; personal injury litigation related to injuries occurring at our racetracks; compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act or applicable money-laundering regulations; payment-related risks, such as risk associated with fraudulent credit card and debit card use; work stoppages and labor issues; 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; and increase in our insurance costs, or obtain similar insurance coverage in the future, and inability to recover under our insurance policies for damages sustained at our properties in the event of inclement weather and casualty events.

 

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.

Press Contacts

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

Tonya Abeln
Vice President, Corporate Communications

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