Churchill concludes successful spring meet

Memorable renewals of the Kentucky Derby (G1), won by WinStar Farm's homebred

SUPER SAVER (Maria's Mon), and the Kentucky Oaks (G1), won by a nose by BLIND

LUCK (Pollard's Vision); brilliant performances by reigning Horse of the Year

RACHEL ALEXANDRA (Medaglia d'Oro) and rising star BLAME (Arch); and four

exciting evenings of "Downs After Dark" night racing were among the most magical

moments of the 42-day spring meet at Churchill downs that concluded on Sunday.

The central human figure in many of the meet's brightest moments was jockey

Calvin Borel, who not only achieved his 1,000th career victory beneath the Twin

Spires during the meet, but also won his first spring meet riding title. He

piloted Super Saver to victory in the Run for the Roses, an unprecedented third

Kentucky Derby victory in four years, and was aboard for Rachel Alexandra's

return to form as the 2009 Kentucky Oaks winner took the Fleur de Lis H. (G2) by

10 1/2 lengths for her first victory of the year.

"Our renewals of the Kentucky Derby and Oaks, run under vastly different

weather conditions, were among the most successful in history and American

racing's greatest weekend continues to display the best of the sports and

entertainment aspects our industry offers," said Kevin Flanery, president of

Churchill Downs.

"Our 'Downs After Dark' night racing is now clearly established as an

entertainment option that is attractive to a wide range of age groups and all

segments of the population in our city and region. We were disappointed that

overall field sizes during the meet were not as large as our fans would prefer,

but that is an industry-wide concern and we thank our horsemen who worked hard

to participate in our spring meet. We look ahead to our fall meet and the return

of the Breeders' Cup World Championships to our track for the next two years."

Borel guided Super Saver to a 2 1/2-length victory over Ice Box (Pulpit) over

a sloppy track in the 136th running of the Kentucky Derby before a crowd of

155,804, sixth-largest in Derby history and easily the largest attendance for a

renewal of the Derby run over a wet track. The huge crowd that endured nearly

day-long rains was rewarded when the clouds parted as the field stepped onto the

track for the Kentucky Derby post parade and the sun was shining for both for

the traditional singing of "My Old Kentucky Home" and the famed race itself.

Super Saver provided trainer Todd Pletcher with his first victory in the

Kentucky Derby. Pletcher, who sent four runners in this year's Run for the

Roses, started his first Kentucky Derby runner in 2000 and prior to this year

had saddled 24 starters without getting a sniff of the roses.

On the sun-splashed day before the Derby, Blind Luck rallied to defeat

Evening Jewel (Northern Afleet) by a nose in the 136th running of the Kentucky

Oaks before a record crowd of 116,046. Ridden by Rafael Bejarano, Blind Luck

gave trainer Jerry Hollendorfer his third victory in America's premier race for

three-year-old fillies. 

Wagering on the 2010 renewal of the Kentucky Derby race totaled $112.7

million, a 7.8 percent gain on all-sources betting from the 104.6 million

wagered on the 2009 Derby. Total betting on the 13-race Kentucky Derby Day card

rose to $162.7 million, a 4.3 percent increase from the $158 million wagered

on all Kentucky Derby Day races in 2009.

The 2010 renewal of the Kentucky Oaks was the most successful in history. A

record crowd of 116,046 watched the race, and all-sources wagering on the

Kentucky Oaks race was $10.6 million, an increase of 55 percent over 2009. Total

wagering on entire 12-race Kentucky Oaks Day racing program reached a record

$36.0 million, an increase of 20 percent over the previous year.

The success of Kentucky Derby and Oaks Days allowed Churchill Downs to raise

purses for its overnight races for the final three weeks of the spring meet by

10 percent. It was the first in-meet increase in purses at Churchill Downs since

a similar 10 percent purse hike in June 2003. This increase raised purses by

about $3,000 per race.    

But continued competitive pressure from tracks in racing states that

supplement purses with casino and slot machine revenues or other purse subsidies

contributed to a decline in average field size for the meet's races. The average

field in the 439 races run during the 42-day spring meet consisted of 7.75

horses, down from 7.85 in 2009.

"Downs After Dark" night racing continued to be an immensely popular product

as this year's four sessions were conducted under Churchill Downs' new permanent

lights, which were installed over the winter at a cost of approximately $4

million. The 2009 experiment with night race included three sessions under

temporary lights.

An average of 27,139 patrons attended the evening programs, ranging from

24,625 to June 18 to 32,481 on July 2. Two more night programs are scheduled for

the fall meet: Sunday, October 31 and Friday, November 19. There was added

luster to the June 11 launch of "Downs After Dark" racing under permanent

lights: retired U.S. Army General Tommy Franks, the one-time Commander of the

United States Central Command, visited the track and turned on those lights to

usher in the new era at Churchill Downs.

The 2010 renewal of the Kentucky Oaks marked its second year as part of a

fundraising partnership with Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the largest source of

nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer in the world.

Because of that partnership Komen for the Cure later received a check for

$118,346 to help fund the search for a cure for breast cancer. Another Kentucky

Oaks fundraising partnership resulted in a check for $30,000 to benefit Kentucky

First Lady Jane Beshear's Horses and Hope breast cancer outreach initiative in

Kentucky's horse industry. 

Stonestreet Farm and Harold McCormick's Rachel Alexandra, the Churchill

Downs-based Horse of the Year during her three-year-old season that included a

record-smashing 20 1/4-length victory in the 2009 Kentucky Oaks, made two

appearances during the spring meet. The first was a narrow loss to Unrivaled

Belle (Unbridled's Song) in the La Troienne (G2) on the 2010 Kentucky Oaks

undercard, but the champion followed that effort on June 12 with her dominant

victory in the Fleur de Lis.

Four races after Rachel Alexandra's return to the winner's circle, Claiborne

Farm and Adele Dilschneider's Blame established himself as a major player in the

handicap ranks and a contender for this fall's Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) at

Churchill Downs by erasing a four-length deficit in midstretch to defeat Battle

Plan by three-quarters of a length in the $600,000 Stephen Foster H. (G1).

Other Grade 1 winners during the meet were owner-trainer Tom McCarthy's

GENERAL QUARTERS (Sky Mesa) who captured the Woodford Reserve Turf Classic under

Bejarano, and MONA DE MOMMA (Speightstown), who defeated eight rivals including

Eclipse Award winner Informed Decision (Monarchos), in the Humana Distaff.

Borel, who won the 1999 fall meet riding title outright and shared titles in

the 2006 and 2009 fall meets, rode 52 winners during the spring meet to easily

outdistance Corey Lanerie for his first spring meet title. One of those winners

was Gray Hart's Girl (Buddha) on June 4 to give the 43-year-old Borel his

1,000th Churchill Downs victory. Only Hall of Famer Pat Day (2,482) has ridden

more winners at Churchill Downs.

Borel was reunited during the spring meet with his 2009 Kentucky Derby winner

Mine That Bird (Birdstone), who returned to the races on Sunday in the

Firecracker H. (G2). Owned by Double Eagle Ranch and Buena Suerte Equine, Mine

That Bird became the first Kentucky Derby winner to race at Churchill Downs

since 2005 winner Giacomo returned to run fourth in the 2006 Breeders' Cup

Classic. Mine That Bird finished a disappointing eighth in his 2010 debut, his

first try on turf, but new trainer D. Wayne Lukas continues to hope that the

2009 Derby winner will progress in the coming months and return to Churchill

Downs in the fall for the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic.

Steve Asmussen won his third consecutive training title, saddling 24 winners.

It was the fourth spring meet title for the two-time Eclipse Award-winning

trainer, who also has won leading trainer honors four times during the fall

meet. Asmussen's roster of winner's included Stonestreet Stable's KANTHAROS

(Lion Heart), an impressive 9 1/2-length winner of the 109th running of the

Bashford Manor S. (G3) for two-year-olds on Saturday. The victory by the

unbeaten colt stamped him as an early contender for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile

(G1) in November and the 137th Kentucky Derby next May.

Trainer Dale Romans, who finished second in the trainers' race with 19

victories, hit the 500-victory milestone at Churchill Downs when Skipadate (Skip

Away) won the 8TH race on June 17. Romans, a 43-year-old Louisville, Kentucky,

native, saddled his first winner at Churchill Downs on November 12, 1987.

Maggi Moss earned her second leading owner title as she collected nine

winners to edge Ken and Sarah Ramsey. Moss' other Churchill Downs title came in

the 2007 spring meet.