Churchill "Downs After Dark" - 3rd and last night: THU July 2

[Glimmerglass]

"Downs After Dark"

The historic experiment for that track starts tonight and CD is scheduled to try it 2 more times (June 26, July 2) during this meet. Is anyone going?

It's not cheap but for the novelty why not? General admission, normally $3, will cost $10 on Friday and $6 for the next two night programs. A pass for all three nights is available for $15.

DRF 6-19-09 Churchill goes under the lights (http://drf.com/news/article/104738.html)

Post time for the seventh race is 9:05 p.m., when there still is ample daylight at this time of year on the western cusp of the Eastern time zone, assuming clear weather. But after that, artificial means will be needed to illuminate the track. The eighth race is set for 9:40, the ninth at 10:12, the 10th at 10:42, and the 11th at 11:11, meaning some fans and workers will still be trickling out at the witching hour of midnight.

The lighting structures being used were wheeled in, but there is no shortage of illumination as the track lighting will provide the equivalent of 20,383 60-watt household light bulbs.

To ensure horses were comfortable under the lights Churchill allowed trainers to jog their horses in the early morning hours this week under the lights. Rachel Alexandra was among those who worked out under the lights in the wee hours.

Courier-Journal June 15, 2009 "Horses train under the Churchill lights" (http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20090615/SPORTS08/906150382/Horses+train+under+the+Churchill+lights) - pictures of the lights and training here

For the occasion, five Friday races have been named in honor of horses with names to fit the theme and who have made a mark at Churchill, including 1953 Kentucky Derby winner Dark Star and 1991 Kentucky Oaks winner Lite Light.

Churchill is ramping up its ontrack fan-related offerings for the first night program. Attractions will include food and drink specials, red carpet entrances at Gates 10 and 17, and a variety of live music and non-traditional settings to effect "the look and feel of an upscale nightclub," according to a track release.

Although Churchill does not reveal attendance figures except for Derby and Oaks days, estimates call for an ontrack crowd of 15,000 to 20,000.

The entire race card entries - from equibase here (http://www.churchilldowns.com/racing-handicapping/equibase/entries?eqb=ZXFiUmFjZUVudHJpZXNEaXNwbGF5LmNmbT9UUk s9Q0QmQ1k9VVNBJkRBVEU9MDYvMTkvMjAwOSZTVFlMRT1DRA==&iframe=1)

[jengersnap]

Billy Dawson, assistant and exercise rider for Merrill Scherer, said a few horses gawked at the lights at first but it didn't affect their training.

"But horses took to it well," he said. "It was plenty bright. Very bright. I wish they'd leave it like this every morning."

I wish it was like that every morning on a dark track too. Dark tracks and exercising horses bother me. I really like night racing, save for getting wrapped up so late when you're in a late race.

[smilton]

Gosh by the time you bathe, cool them out, wrap and feed you would be getting out of there very late. You would basically be in the barn 24hrs straight to start morning work outs.

sorry my version of dyslexia causes me to which words around more than letters.

[Blinkers On]

I hate night racing for that very reason. It turns into such a grind for the day of night racing and the following day. I think most track folk function pretty well on empty, but it still is a rough grind. I always have found not doing the cross town drive was the way to go. Spend an hour on the roads or sleep and extra hour. I had a fun little hammock in the office where I would crash.

[Larksmom]

I turned on TVG this morning, and I heard the hosts talking to a spokesman, from CD. I was roaming thru the house, and then heard a race from Woodbine. I thought maybe I had put the tv on HRTV instead. But no, I heard the dulcet tones of Mr. B, and it was indeed on TVG. I did not hear the reason for the shift, but those are two big tracks, and I am pretty sure that CD 'belongs' to Stronach. I also know he is going thru a bankrupcy.
Glimmer?

[Laurierace]

Definitely not, Stronach has noting to do with CD. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if it was the other way around before long. They did the night racing as an experiment to see if they can get more people at the track, its simple as that. There isn't a track in the world that couldn't use more business.

[Blinkers On]

Exactly Laurie. Magna does not own Churchill. I believe they are CDI, no???

[jengersnap]

Ahhh so that's where our announcer went. I missed him calling our Woodbine races on Wed night lol

[Larksmom]

I guess I was confused because they have always been on HRTV. I didn't hear why, which was my original question. I guess i should have figured out that if they were offering the BC, if SA folds, they must not have been involved. Guess I better wander over to blood horse or TT to see if they have anything to say. It is just that I spend waaaay to much time here.

[luvmytbs]

Tonight it will be great for night racing as we were in the nineties today with sauna like humidity.

One turn off however is that CD is charging $ 10 for general admission instead of the regular $ 2. :eek:

[Glimmerglass]

It looks - from the HRTV coverage - that this novelty is being very well received and attended.

When they panned the stands at Churchill it looks crowded. The general manager said that it looks like final numbers will be closer to 30,000 which with all due respect is huge considering no races are graded stakes and well known horses are scant.

Race 8 was the "official" 1st race under full artificial illumination.

For the history books the winner of that race was Final Copy with Robby Albarado up in a $5k claiming race. Indeed Final Copy was claimed too.

(The racing channel of TVG still is locked out from carrying CD's signal live on tv - they are taking wagers and I think they might have streaming video on-line, not 100% sure, so they tend to "ignore" discussing Churchill too much)

[Glimmerglass]

As an aside Churchill was having an interesting gimick with the public. They picked someone in the crowd (not sure how) and offered them them a deal or no deal: $100 to keep or they could make a $1,000 win wager on a single horse in the race. If they take the $1k wager they had to make the pick public .. and yes someone did wager in the 8th on the winner. That should've paid off $4.80 for a $2 win bet.

Jon Court (Animal Planet's "Jockeys") has two wins so far and Calvin Borel has one too.

[mroades]

I know not everyone loves him, but YAY for Calvin and Cosmic tonight under the lights at CD...I just love me some Calvin Bo-rail!

[Glimmerglass]

Yep, Calvin shockingly won on a long shot, skimming the rail past the field in the stretch :)

It was nice that he won it on a horse trained by his brother Cecil who was a bit choked up when interviewed on HRTV. Cecil mentioned tomrrow [Sat 6-20] Calvin was flying to Chicago - I wonder if he'll be riding at Arlington Park.

[luvmytbs]

Robby Albarado spoke on the local news channel.

He was very excited about the number of racing fans that showed up last night, approx. 28,000.

He mentioned noticing a much younger crowd than during normal race hours.

Two more Fridays are scheduled to have night racing.

[Glimmerglass]

Final number: 28,011 (http://www.paulickreport.com/blog/inaugural-downs-after-dark-attracts-28011/) which interestingly they say is a record-number for any non-Breeders Cup, Oaks or Derby day for Churchill Downs.

Then again as is typical "fans" on Paulick (and other blogs) bitch and moan about the actual impact. Such a bunch of whiners this sport tends to attract. Come one folks - why say even one negative word about a sport that gets that many people to pay $10 for on an overwise average Friday night in America?

Sure Keeneland or Saratoga or DelMar can get that many people on a "typical" day but why bash it when it happens at Churchill Downs?

[mroades]

If I lived close enough I would go on a friday night!

[RedMare01]

I think it's a very interesting idea because of it's newness and novelty (here). Glad it went over big, and I plan on going to the last one in July. Good for Churchill!

Caitlin

[Glimmerglass]

Churchill is also willing to say that by under estimating the turnaout some services were impacted and that they'll fix that for the next evening race.

Courier-Journal June 20 "Track to bolster night service" (http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20090620/NEWS01/906200357/1002/rss07)

For the next night racing event on Friday, June 26, Churchill will double the number of beer trucks, triple the food and beverage staff, add vendors who walk around with trays of beer and cut the happy hour beer price to $1, instead of $2, track general manager Jim Gates said.

Other than the staffing issues, the first night racing program was a success, track officials said.

Churchill reported $1.6million in on-track betting, a 159 percent increase over the same Friday night in 2008. The handle from all sources, including off-track betting, was $6.5million, a 32 percent increase.

Attendance was almost four times the usual Friday crowd of about 7,500 people, officials said.

Gates said Churchill officials had thought they could handle a crowd of 25,000. "We found out that we were wrong," he said.

Oh and as cited Calvin Borel did ride at Arlington Park on Saturday as a guest. Sadly though the good fortune he has at CD did not travel will his bags: he went 0-5 with best effort a 2nd place finish.

[LaurieB]

It's a shame CD wasn't prepared to deal with the big crowd. It seems counter-intuitive to me to spend money to try to attract a lot of people and then offer them inferior services when they arrive. I hope last week's racegoers are willing to give the track another try, rather than just shaking their heads and giving up. It's amazing how many different ways horseracing can come up with to shoot itself in the foot.

[luvmytbs]

What they didn't account for was the fact that a "Friday Night Crowd" would drink a whole lot more beer than the average "During The Day Crowd". LOL.

People were standing in line for 20 minutes to get their suds.

[Glimmerglass]

June 26th was the second installment of the Churchill "After Dark" and early numbers at 27,000 prove again it is a hit!

[Barnfairy]

Damn, Glimmer, how'd you get that number so fast?

The real question is.....did everyone get served their tasty beverages in a timely manner tonight?

[DLee]

A friend of mine went last week and LOVED it. :yes: She was planning on going tonight as well.

[Glimmerglass]

The final number for June 26th, the second "Downs After Dark" (http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20090626/NEWS01/906260392/Churchill+ready+for+2nd+night+racing+test) was 27,623

Having Churchill Downs executives pitch in Friday evening by working the crowd and hawking beers didn't hurt, either.

"Some of them are surprised," Churchill Downs general manager Jim Gates said after spending two hours working in a beer truck. "Some of them couldn't care less, they just want their beer"

[luvmytbs]

And admission was lowered from $ 10 to $ 6.

[Glimmerglass]

Final night of this trial run of "Downs After Dark"

Courier-Journal July 2, 2009 "Thursday is final night out for Churchill meet" (http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20090701/SPORTS08/907010415/Thursday+is+final+night+out+for+Churchill+meet)

Reserved seating Thursday is sold out, but there is unlimited general admission at $6 a person, with Twin Spires Club members and seniors getting in for $1 and all regular passes accepted. All active and retired U.S. Military will get in free with proof of identification.

Former Miss America Heather French Henry will sing the National Anthem in the Derby winner's circle at 5:25 p.m., accompanied by the Kentucky Air National Guard color guard. Among other military-themed features, a display of more than 1,000 U.S. flags will be inside Gate 10 in conjunction with Flags4Vets, whose primary goal is to place flags on graves of U.S. veterans buried in the 151 U.S. military cemeteries in 11 countries.

Endless Summer Band will play from 4-8:30 p.m. in the paddock area, followed by Atlanta-based VJ 2ndNature. Happy Hour returns from 4-8 p.m. in the paddock area, with $2 Budweiser products and hot dogs and $3 margaritas and daiquiris.

Sounds like a nice intro to the 4th of July weekend! Further, they want feedback:

Churchill has launched an online poll at churchilldowns.com/vote (http://www.churchilldowns.com/vote) for fans both on and off-track to voice their opinion about night racing. The "yes" or "no" poll question is "Would you like to see Churchill Downs install permanent lights and conduct night racing as part of our regular race meet?"

The poll remains open through July 7. Voters will be entered into a prize drawing to win first-floor clubhouse box seats for six to next year's Kentucky Derby.

[Glimmerglass]

And tonight's final number ... a record for a non-Derby/Oaks/Breeders' Cup day: 33,100 (and some change) - damn impressive for a Thursday night!

ETA: the 7th and 9th races were deadheats not only with the replay but because the teletimer was malfunctioning and thus unable to accurately call a decisive winner. Exceedingly rare.

In the 10th race an old name: Blackberry Road - who once was on the Derby trail.

[Glimmerglass]

With the success of Churchill it would appear many other tracks are willing to entertain after-dark racing to see if they can find the same success. I don't think its a simple as turning on the lights and folks appear like moths :D

Asbury Park Press (NJ) 7-8-09 "Monmouth Park may get lights" (http://www.app.com/article/20090708/NEWS/90708125/1004/NEWS01/Monmouth+Park+may+get+lights+)

The state Senate president said he will "push hard" to have lights installed at Monmouth Park so the state-operated track can begin hosting night thoroughbred racing programs.

Monmouth Park, rebuilt 63 years ago at its present location, has never offered night racing.

Dennis Robinson, chief executive officer of the Sports Authority, said on Wednesday installing lights still might not be a good investment, estimating the cost at $10 million or more. Robinson said it might be wiser to consider "twilight racing," with programs starting in late afternoon and concluding before nightfall.

But Codey said a recent successful experiment with night racing at Churchill Downs — the home of the Kentucky Derby — is a sign that night programs could also bolster New Jersey's sagging racing industry.

What seems to be overlooked is the hard work by CD's management to make going to the track not just about the horses and wagering. The food, drink, bands, and other entertainment ... they made going out an event. Simply setting up lights just isn't the trick.

[Glimmerglass]

Sticking this news here ... DRF 9-28-09 "Churchill to install permanent lights" (http://drf.com/news/article/107613.html) - excerpts

.... installation of permanent lights so the track can schedule live race cards at night by the start of the 2010 spring meet ...

Liz Harris, a Churchill spokeswoman, said Monday that the company had not yet decided how many night cards would be scheduled next year. Harris said that company officials plan to talk with horsemen, neighborhood representatives, and racing fans to determine the proper mix of night and day racing for 2010.

"We're going to carefully evaluate the feedback," Harris said. "We don't want to do too much, because then it's not a novelty anymore."

Horsemen were ambivalent at first about the night-racing cards, with some complaining that the change in schedule would disrupt working hours for their staffs. However, most horsemen supported the change when the cards proved successful.