Breeders Cup May Return in 2010 to Louisville KY
Posted on February 11, 2008
The Louisville KY newspaper The Courier-Journal wrote an good article detailing how the Breeders Cup World Championships may return in 2010 to Louisville KY at Churchill Downs.
Currently, Churchill Downs and Del Mar Thoroughbred Club located near San Diego California are vying to be the hosts for the world class event.
As I’m sure everyone is already aware, the Breeders Cup Board chose Santa Anita Park & the Oak Tree Racing Association as the host for the 2009 championship (which are also the hosts for this year’s 2008 season which are set to be October 24-25 2008). For reference, the 2009 Breeders Cup will be held November 6-7 2009.
Churchill Downs last hosted the Breeders Cup in 2006. Then the track officials stated that they did not feel that the revenues generated from the championship were not appropriate given the expense of the cost of hosting the event. As a result of the event not being hosted in Kentucky for 2009, a tax break incentive that was put into place for the organization has now expired for the Breeders Cup. Even so, Churchill Downs has hosted the event more than any other track with a record 6 times of the event being held there.
Community economic impact estimates place the value of the Breeders Cup in the $20 million range for the hosting city.
And some additional incentives to get it back to Louisville Kentucky include that when the event has been held at Churchill Downs, that the Top 5 Breeders Cup attendance records were set here. The Louisville and Lexington KY horse enthusiasts want the event back! Kentucky horse farms are known the world over and it makes sense to have the Breeders Cup World Championship back where it belongs. Hopefully the issues between the organization itself and Churchill Downs can be resolved and things can be back the way they should have been all along.
» Filed Under Kentucky Horse Events and Clinics, Louisville KY
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