Churchill Downs Incorporated Announces New High-Tech, High-Paying Jobs in Kentucky; Continues to Drive Innovation in Horse Racing Industry

TwinSpires headquarters relocating to Louisville from Silicon Valley

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ: CHDN) (“CDI”) announced today the transition and creation of more than 70 high-tech jobs in Kentucky, as it relocates the TwinSpires headquarters to Louisville from Mountain View, California. TwinSpires now employs more than 200 full time employees in the state.

TwinSpires (www.twinspires.com), a wholly owned division of CDI and the official mobile betting partner of Churchill Downs Race Track, the Kentucky Derby and Breeders Cup, is a leading platform for wagering on thoroughbred, harness and quarter horse races happening at venues in the Bluegrass State and around the world. In 2016, $1.1 billion in handle (or 10 percent of total wagering on U.S. races) was wagered through TwinSpires.

“Technology, specifically mobile, is the equine industry’s fastest growing sector, and Churchill Downs is proud to pioneer the innovation and growth that’s taking place,” CDI chief executive officer Bill Carstanjen said. “Relocating the TwinSpires business to Louisville would not be possible without the leadership of Gov. Bevin and the work he has done to make Kentucky more business-friendly.”

CDI is investing $2.2 million to build out the TwinSpires headquarters at its existing offices at 600 North Hurstbourne Parkway, totaling approximately 15,000 square feet in new office space.

“Today, we are proud to welcome TwinSpires and new, high-tech, high-paying jobs to Kentucky. Churchill Downs’ decision to bring a technology-focused headquarters to our state sends a strong signal to other businesses about the quality of our workforce and their potential for growth and success in Kentucky,” Gov. Bevin said. “Our administration has championed measures to make the Commonwealth a better place to live, work and do business, and we are already seeing the results of these efforts statewide. We are grateful to Churchill Downs for this significant investment in Kentucky.”

Carstanjen also noted Mayor Greg Fischer’s longtime focus on making Louisville a hub for technology and innovation: “Mayor Fischer has made Louisville more competitive for attracting new businesses, jobs and talent—all of which were critical factors when weighing the decision to relocate the TwinSpires headquarters.”

“The relocation of TwinSpires.com is confirmation that Louisville’s forward-thinking economy is driven by a skilled workforce that can support innovative global companies,” Mayor Greg Fischer said. “Louisville’s tech and innovation sector is seeing growth like never before, and we are committed to further establishing Louisville as an innovation hub for tech talent.”

 CDI plans to hire an additional 25 TwinSpires employees before the end of the year, with salaries ranging between $75,000 and $110,000.

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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