Churchill Downs and Aqueduct Racecourses – Different from Each Other
Owned by Churchill Downs Incorporated, Churchill Downs is spread over an area of 147 acres and features a one-mile dirt oval and a seven furlong grass field. The racetrack hosts race meetings throughout the spring and fall during the months of May and October. The facility and the popular races it conducts have given Churchill Downs a ranking of five out of 65 racetracks in America by the North American Horse Players Association.
Going back to the history of Churchill Downs, the track is named after Henry and John Churchill, who had leased a portion of the land from their nephew, Colonel Meriwether Clark Jr., president of the Louisville Jockey Club and Driving Park Association. He was introduced to horse racing by his father-in-law Richard Ten Broeck, who was an accomplished jockey to attend the English Derby on Epsom Downs near London. Churchill Downs filled the void that was caused by the closure of the Oakland and Woodlawn racetracks in the region. Clark, having trouble operating the race track due to race setups, sold the race track to a syndicate led by William Applegate in 1893.
Later in 1902, Applegate turned over the race track operation to then-Louisville Mayor Charles Grainger in an effort to keep Churchill Downs from becoming known primarily for gambling. Business was not going well when Col. Matt Winn of Louisville joined a new business union to acquire the facility. Under Winn’s leadership, Churchill Downs prospered, and the Kentucky Derby became a distinguished stake for three-year-old Thoroughbred racehorses.
Since then, there has been no turning back for Churchill Downs, the facility has undergone several renovations and upgrades that have made Churchill Downs not just a horse racing venue, but a full-fledged public entertainment venue. Modernization in recent years has increased seating capacity to nearly 52,000, 77 luxury suites, and new, integrated simulcast areas and other premium venues at the world’s most legendary race track. Churchill Downs also ventured into the music business by hosting the inaugural HullabaLOU Music Festival in July 2010. Other improvements to the racetrack in recent years have included the installation of permanent lights around its famous dark oval for racing. “Downs After Dark” nights that expanded in 2011 to include “Opening Night” of the Spring Meeting.
The other race track under discussion is Aqueduct Racetrack, which is in the New York City borough of Queens. This thoroughbred racing facility first opened in September 1894 and hosts races that generally meet from late October or early November through April. Since the racetrack opened in September 1894 by the Queens County Jockey Club, there have been several renovations and improvements to the facility that were taken over by the Greater New York Racing Association in 1955 along with Saratoga Race Course, Belmont Park, and Jamaica Racetrack.
The Aqueduct Racetrack closed in 1956 and reopened in 1959 after $33 million renovations designed by noted racetrack architect Arthur Froehlich. The racetrack surface also changed several times, the grass infield, which was known as the main grass field, having the grass torn up after the 1975 races to build the new dirt infield. After the new facility was built in 1959, off-track betting in New York City was encouraged to reduce the time the track would sit idle after the end of the racing season.
Aqueduct Racetrack hosts a mix of Grade 1, Grade 2, Grade 3, and non-grade races. There is a racing season that runs from the last Wednesday in October to the first Sunday in May. In recent years, races have been held on the Inner Dirt Track between the Wednesdays after Thanksgiving through the Wood Memorial. Aqueduct has also hosted the Breeders’ Cup, the Jockey Club Gold Cup and the prestigious Belmont Stakes on several occasions. Remsen and Cigar are important races that mark the beginning of winter competition; while the Wood Memorial culminates the winter meeting.
Aqueduct has made horse racing history by being the only site to have had the only triple tie to win a classic race. In the 1944 Carter Handicap race, Brownie, Bossuet and Wait A Bit all finished the line at the same time. In another rare event in an eleven-day race schedule at Aqueduct in April 2006, a tie occurred for each of the three “money” positions (Winner, Place and Spectacle) in three separate races.
In recent years, there have been reports indicating the closure of the Aqueduct race track due to facility operating losses and growth spurts of Churchill Downs and earmarked for designation as a National Historic Landmark. Are the two going in different directions?