Downs After Dark features 'White Party' on Foster night

Summer parties return in earnest to Churchill Downs for the final three weeks

of the spring meet as the historic home of the Kentucky Derby welcomes back its

wildly-popular Downs After Dark nighttime racing programs this Saturday.

Admission gates will open each Saturday at 4 p.m. (EDT) and the first of 11 live

races will begin at 6 p.m. The final live race will be 11:10 p.m. and the

on-track party will continue in the spacious Plaza area until midnight.

The elements that have made the Downs After Dark parties so special over the

past four years -- the fashion, style, cuisine, music and entertainment -- are

back, and each of this year's evening racing extravaganzas will have unique

concepts: the third annual "White Party" (Saturday) in which guests are

encouraged to wear an all-white wardrobe; "Boots, Brew and BBQ" (June 22) where

patrons can kick up their boots and enjoy a Southern-style, country celebration;

and "Star-Spangled Night" (June 29), a pre-Fourth of July holiday celebration

with lots of red, white and blue.

Like last year, the marquee entertainment events have been paired with

stellar graded stakes racing action, starting with Saturday's popular Stephen

Foster Handicap racing program. The million-dollar night of racing includes five

stakes races headed by the Grade 1, $500,000 Stephen Foster Handicap (Race 8 at

9:30 p.m.), which has grown to become of America's most important races for

older horses.

The prestigious 1 1/8-mile Foster will be run under the lights in prime time

for the second straight year and will showcase many of the nation's top horses:

reigning Breeders' Cup Classic winner Fort Larned; Take Charge Indy, the

six-length winner of the Alysheba on Kentucky Oaks Day; Successful Dan, the

seven-year-old brother of Horse of the Year Wise Dan who has won 8 of his 12

starts including the Ben Ali (G3) at Keeneland in late April; defending champ

Ron the Greek; Travers winner Golden Ticket; and 2011 Foster champ Pool Play.

Two-time Breeders' Cup Ladies Classic winner and dual champion Royal Delta

will make her return to the races on the undercard to defend her title in the

Grade 2, $175,000 Fleur De Lis Handicap for fillies and mares at 1 1/8 miles

(Race 6 at 8:30 p.m.). This will mark only the fourth time -- but first in the

winter, spring or summer -- that defending Breeders' Cup Classic and Ladies

Classic champs will compete on the same program. The last occurred Sept. 27,

2008 at Belmont Park when Curlin won the Jockey Club Gold Cup and Ginger Punch

finished second in the Beldame.

Saturday's "White Party" encourages guests to "dress to impress" with an

all-white wardrobe. There'll be a contest in the Plaza for best-dressed female,

male, couple and group with prizes to the winners.

The Paddock Pergolas will be decked out in white rose draping, palms and

crystal chandeliers. Meanwhile, the dining rooms will be filled with white rose

accents, crystal lamps and chandeliers, white chair bands with bling and

centerpieces with silk orchids and white gladiolas.

The Churchill Downs facilities will be adorned by mood lighting, spotlights

and seasonal greenery, and colorful bunting will flow throughout the grounds and

entrances. With sleek and comfortable conversational seating options, cocktail

tables, unique food and beverage stations and music added to the mix, the

racetrack -- particularly the new, spacious 30,000-square-foot Plaza area --

will have the look and feel of an upscale night club.

Music remains a major part of the Downs After Dark celebration and the Plaza

Stage will feature entertainment by Indiana-based Pawnshop Guitar (4-8:30 p.m.)

and Ohio cover band Off the Hook (8:45 p.m. to midnight). There also will be

music by Tony and the Tanlines on the Clubhouse's fifth floor balcony and a DJ

at the Gate 17 entrance.

Other ancillary entertainment includes the popular text-to-win sweepstakes

"Bet or No Bet," sponsored by Thorntons. Four lucky on-track patrons will face a

tough decision: to place a $1,000 win bet on a horse in the upcoming race or

take a $100 Thornton's gift card. The promotion will be held on Races 6-9.

Patrons will have the option to taste non-traditional racetrack offerings,

and evening appetites will be satisfied by scrumptious premium dining offerings

available for purchase inside Millionaires Row, the Matt Winn Dining Room, Skye

Terrace and other locations. Additionally, a special Finlandia Artic Oasis drink

will be sold in a commemorative color-changing cup.

Shane Co. will be on hand to giveaway horsehead bottle openers and RAM Trucks

will be on display in various locations around the venue.

While fans will enjoy the evening's unique mix of music and food, Churchill

Downs will make it a special night for racing fans as it features an all-stakes

Pick 4 and two Pick 5s on the special wagering menu.

There will be three Pick 4 wagers Saturday night (Races 1-4, 3-6 and 6-9)

with the latter an all-stakes Pick 4 that concludes with the Regret. The two

Pick 5s will cover Races 2-6 and 5-9. Both the Pick 4 and Pick 5 are 50-cent

minimum bets. Meanwhile, the $2 Pick 6 will be held on Races 4-9.

After Race 4 at 7:26 p.m., representatives from the connections of Orb, the

winner of the 139th running of the Kentucky Derby, will be on hand to accept

their engraved Kentucky Derby trophies.

Orb's Hall of Fame trainer and Lexington, Kentucky, native Claude "Shug"

McGaughey III, as well as jockey Joel Rosario will be on hand to collect the

hardware. Also, Rosario has four scheduled rides in stakes events, including

Golden Ticket in the Foster.

The Kentucky Derby winner's trophy and the trophy to the winning breeder will

be accepted by Daisy Phipps Pulito, the daughter of Phipps Stable's Ogden "Dinny"

Phipps, on behalf of her family's stable and Stuart Janney III, a cousin to the

Phipps family. The victory by Orb realized the family's dream of winning the

Kentucky Derby that dates to 1928 when Distraction, owned by the Wheatley Stable

of Mrs. Henry Carnegie Phipps, ran 13th in the 54th Derby won by Reigh Count.

Also scheduled to take part in the ceremony is Claiborne Farm, the famed

Paris, Kentucky, institution where Orb was bred and raised. Although Claiborne

will not receive a trophy, the farm has boarded mares and worked closely with

the winning owners for decades and Orb was the 10th horse either bred or raised

at the farm to win the Kentucky Derby. The farm will be represented on Saturday

by Walker Hancock, son of Claiborne Farm president Seth Hancock.

Acclaimed Thoroughbred racing cartoonist Pierre Bellocq, better known to

generations of horse racing fans as "PEB," will update his colorful, masterpiece

murals on the second floor of the Clubhouse ITW area that depict every jockey

and trainer that have won the Kentucky Derby.

PEB is scheduled to sketch and paint the images of McGaughey and Rosario on

Friday and Saturday between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.

According to the National Weather Service, Saturday's forecast calls for

sunny skies with a high near 84 and a minor 20-percent chance of isolated

showers and thunderstorms. The low will be around 67.

Cover charge (general admission) to all Downs After Dark events is $10.

Holders of shareholders passes or horsemen licenses and children age 12 and

under (when accompanied by an adult) will be admitted free of charge. No one

under the age of 18 will be admitted to the track unless they are accompanied by

a parent or responsible adult.

There is limited reserved seating still available. Indoor dining packages in

the Skye Terrace are $59.90 per person and include a scrumptious buffet dinner,

reserved seat and official program. Outdoor third-floor box seats are on sale

for $20 and include general admission, a box seat in the third-floor clubhouse

and an official program.

Reserved seating can be purchased online at

ChurchillDowns.com/Tickets or the on-track box office located at the Gate 1

entrance off Central Ave. (open Wednesday-Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. or 12

p.m. to 9 p.m. on Downs After Dark Saturdays).

Those attending Downs After Dark are encouraged to arrive early to secure

on-site parking and avoid traffic delays. All on-property parking lots will open

at 3 p.m. and space is available on a first-come, first-served basis (free in

the Longfield Avenue lot). Typically, all lots are filled to capacity early in

the racing program. Churchill Downs will offer free parking and shuttle service

from Papa John's Cardinal Stadium starting at 5 p.m. There will be free

round-trip shuttle service throughout the evening. All Churchill Downs employees

will be directed to park in the track's infield (enter through Longfield

tunnel).

Churchill Downs has secured the services of Louisville Metro Police

Department officers and traffic guards to monitor area traffic on Central Avenue

and other nearby streets to advance ingress and egress. LMPD will control

traffic signals, turn lanes and pedestrian traffic and partial road closures are

possible if it becomes necessary because of heavy traffic.

Night racing at Churchill Downs has been a spectacular success. The track

experimented with night racing under temporary lights in 2009 and invested $4

million to add permanent lighting -- 1,012 fixtures atop 50 poles and 25 rooftop

structures -- in 2010. The move has proved to be popular as nearly 475,000 core

customers, casual patrons and entertainment-seekers have attended the 19 special

nighttime programs. Over the last four years, Downs After Dark events have

essentially tripled the on-track attendance and doubled the on-track wagering

handle compared to afternoon programs previously staged on those dates.

The average attendance for the 13 summertime Downs After Dark programs has

been 26,276, compared to a Friday afternoon program that typically averages

7,500 patrons. Downs After Dark on-track handle has averaged $1,371,903, while

all-sources handle, which includes betting from off-track betting and advance

deposit wagering outlets, has averaged $5,848,053.

Last year was the first year Churchill Downs moved Downs After Dark from

Fridays to Saturdays and combined the entertainment with high-quality stakes

racing. The average attendance was 23,220. On-track wagering averaged $1,356,668

and all-sources betting averaged $6,279,691.

A Downs After Dark record all-sources handle of $7,960,789 occurred on

Stephen Foster Handicap night a year ago. The on-track crowd of 25,417 bet

$1,552,584 while another $6,408,205 was wagered at off-track and advance deposit

wagering outlets around the country.

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