Churchill Downs Incorporated to Invest $5.6 Million in New Synthetic Track Surface at Turfway Park
February 18 2020 - 5:15PM
Churchill Downs Incorporated (“CDI”) (Nasdaq: CHDN) announced today
plans to invest $5.6 million to replace the existing track at
Turfway Park (“Turfway”) with a new Tapeta synthetic track, one of
the world’s leading surfaces for racing and training, through an
agreement with Tapeta Footings, Inc. (“Tapeta”). The removal of
Turfway’s existing Polytrack and installation of the new Tapeta
synthetic track will take place immediately following the close of
Turfway’s Winter/Spring Meet on March 28 and is expected to be
ready for the 2020 Holiday Meet beginning on Dec. 2.
CDI owns and operates three of the four synthetic tracks in the
United States while Turfway will become only the third track in
America to use the state-of-the-art Tapeta synthetic surface,
joining CDI-owned Presque Isle Downs in Pennsylvania. The product
is specifically designed as an all-weather surface for the safety
of horses and riders in Thoroughbred racing. Tapeta is comprised of
a carefully selected mixture of the finest silica sand, wax and
fibres that simulate the root structure of turf and has been proven
to perform exceptionally well in heavy rainfall and winter weather
consistent with Turfway’s racing conditions.
“The Tapeta team are all delighted to have been chosen to
install a Tapeta surface at Turfway Park,” said Jan Wakefield, Vice
President of Tapeta Footings, Inc. “We look forward to working with
CDI and can only applaud them for a huge commitment in upgrading
the entire facility. It is a huge boost for Northern Kentucky and
comes at a welcome time for the racing industry.”
The Tapeta track installation is one component of CDI’s
investment that will make way for development of Turfway Park
Racing & Gaming, an up to $150 million state-of-the art live
and historical Thoroughbred racing facility.
“The agreement with Tapeta is the first of many exciting
initiatives to come for Turfway,” said Kevin Flanery, President of
Churchill Downs Racetrack and Turfway Park. “By partnering with
Tapeta to provide the safest racing conditions for Turfway’s winter
meets, we will be able to deliver one of the key elements
supporting our goal of bringing a first-class racing product to
Northern Kentucky.”
The redevelopment of Turfway is anticipated to support up to 400
direct full and part-time equivalent positions and create an
estimated 800 direct construction jobs. The project will include a
historical racing machine facility featuring up to 1,500 machines,
a state-of-the-art clubhouse as well as food/beverage venues.
About Churchill Downs Incorporated Churchill
Downs Incorporated ("CDI") (Nasdaq: CHDN), headquartered in
Louisville, Ky., 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. We also own and
operate the largest online horseracing wagering platform in the
U.S., TwinSpires.com, and are a leader in brick-and-mortar casino
gaming with approximately 11,000 slot machines / video lottery
terminals and 200 table games in eight states. We operate sports
wagering and iGaming through our BetAmerica platform in multiple
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 presentation 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; 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; number of people attending and
wagering on live horse races; 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; work stoppages and labor issues;
difficulty in attracting a sufficient number of horses and trainers
for full field horseraces; inability to negotiate agreements with
industry constituents, including horsemen and other racetracks;
personal injury litigation related to injuries occurring at our
racetracks; our inability to utilize and provide totalisator
services; weather conditions affecting our ability to conduct live
racing; increased competition in the horseracing business; changes
in the regulatory environment of our racing operations; changes in
regulatory environment of our online horseracing business; 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 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; costs, delays, and other
uncertainties relating to the development and expansion of
casinos; and concentration and evolution of slot machine
manufacturing and other technology conditions that could impose
additional costs.
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FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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Investor Contact: Nick Zangari |
Media Contact: Tonya Abeln |
(502) 394-1157 |
(502) 386-1742 |
Nick.Zangari@kyderby.com |
Tonya.Abeln@kyderby.com |
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