Friday night racing @ Churchill a huge success
DiscreetCat
Moderator
from the Louisville Courier-Journal:
Both third-generation horse fans, there was little question that Matt and Sara Alvey would be attending Friday night's historic first-ever racing under the lights at Churchill Downs.
But Sara did insist her husband buy seats in an air-conditioned area of the track for the historic June 19 event.
After all, she's 34 weeks pregnant with their first child, a daughter they plan to name Payton. In the cool of a sold-out dining room, the Alveys kidded that if Matt hit for a big payoff, Sara might go into labor early.
"I keep telling her, 'Stay put a little longer,' " Sara joked.
Speaking of delivering, the Alveys were among those in the crowd who said the historic track did just that. Folks were mostly in a festive mood, even amid complaints of long food and beverage lines and running out of types of beer on the first floor.
"I think a lot of people predicted this would be a huge success," said former pro football star Will Wolford, on the fifth-floor balcony. "But even the highest estimates, I think they blew out of the water. This is unbelievable. They've probably got around 30,000 or so. They could use a few more beer vendors. Betting has not been a problem, but food and drinks have been kind of ridiculous. They just got slammed.
"But it's a real who's who out here tonight for the city."
Among the who's who was former University of Kentucky basketball star Walter McCarty, now a University of Louisville assistant coach.
The first race went off at 6 p.m., and 45 minutes later, every Churchill parking lot was full, with police directing fans to the free parking and shuttles at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium, said David Sweazy, the track's vice president for operations.
Four races into the 11-race program, more than 225 mutuel clerks were on duty compared with 100 the previous Friday and more were being put to work. As of 8:15 p.m., the crowd was 22,500 with more fans streaming in, said track general manager Jim Gates.
"It's great; there's people here like Derby Day," said trainer Don Winfree, standing near the paddock wearing a Hawaiian shirt, as a band played in the background.
Trainer Scooter Dickey saw his horse, More Rum, finish last in the first race, but planned to stay at the track until after the 10th race.
"This is bringing them out good," he said of the crowd. "I just hope all the festivities keep on. I'm trying to find the Ferris wheel, but I can't find it."
The late racing had 34-year-old jockey Corey Lanerie teasing 53-year-old Larry Melancon, who won the first race aboard Kinsale With Me and who has been riding at Churchill since the mid-1970s.
"He had to go to the nursing home and take a nap today so he's tough tonight," Lanerie joked.
Melancon said he never thought there would be night racing at Churchill Downs, but he liked what he saw of the crowd.
"If you knew it would be like this all the time, you'd say, 'Yeah,' " he said. "But I'm done riding, so I'm still not under the lights."
Some fans complained about the $10 general admission price, but most people interviewed said they'd gotten in free on passes or for $1 with their Twin Spires Club membership, which had a huge enrollment in recent days.
Long-time fan Bob Casamer, who cuts hair at Cutting Edge on Dixie Highway, said the shop closed a little early so he could make the track's first night races.
"It's a good option," he said. "But the cost was a little high. I thought the whole idea was to get new people."
Bill Carstanjen, Churchill Downs Inc.'s chief operating officer, said the early crowd exceeded expectations.
"Two thumbs up, so far," he said as he surveyed the mob near the paddock before the third race."
Carstanjen said sales were brisk with people buying the $15 pass that allows patrons in for all three nights of racing.
"Look at the betting lines, look at the concession lines," he said. "There are a lot of people here, and they're having a good time."
As much a hot topic of the evening as night racing and the crowd was the horse industry's efforts to get video slots at racetracks, with proposed legislation having passed the state House earlier in the day.
"It will save me gas money," quipped Mike Fee, adding, "Mr. Williams needs to find another state to live in." Senate President David Williams has said the video slots proposal is a dead issue in the Senate because it doesn't have enough votes for passage.
Chris Cornett, a 20-year-old from Louisville who attends Alice Lloyd College, said he hadn't been to the track since he accompanied his dad to the 1998 Derby. He noted it was better this time, because he could bet.
And, he said, "It will be better when I can drink."
Cornett came with fellow Eastern High School graduates Eric Feldpausch and Chris Hirsbrunner, who attend Kentucky Wesleyan.
"Night racing and these two buddies," Cornett said, when asked what lured him to the track. "But I'm going to come back more."
In fact, they'll be here Friday, June 26, the second of three dates, featuring night racing, he said.
"We have a lot of friends, actually on their way right now, who have never been here,"
Feldpausch. "There are a bunch of people our age who come out here now. It's fun."
Autumn Fenwick, who last attended the races Oaks Day, came out to celebrate her 25th birthday, bringing about 30 of her best friends and family. "When they first came out with (night racing), I said, 'We're going on my birthday,'" she said.
Fenwick, a bartender at Buffalo Wild Wings in St. Matthew, arrived at 4 p.m. in order to secure a prime spot with the new patio furniture near the paddock.
Pat Sheehan, part of the entourage, said he "skipped out of work" to come. But that's OK he's the manager at the restaurant where Fenwick works.
Shari Hall said she and her friends were having "girls' night out," as well as celebrating her birthday on Sunday, June 21.
"And we're celebrating history," added Joyce Blackman.
Both third-generation horse fans, there was little question that Matt and Sara Alvey would be attending Friday night's historic first-ever racing under the lights at Churchill Downs.
But Sara did insist her husband buy seats in an air-conditioned area of the track for the historic June 19 event.
After all, she's 34 weeks pregnant with their first child, a daughter they plan to name Payton. In the cool of a sold-out dining room, the Alveys kidded that if Matt hit for a big payoff, Sara might go into labor early.
"I keep telling her, 'Stay put a little longer,' " Sara joked.
Speaking of delivering, the Alveys were among those in the crowd who said the historic track did just that. Folks were mostly in a festive mood, even amid complaints of long food and beverage lines and running out of types of beer on the first floor.
"I think a lot of people predicted this would be a huge success," said former pro football star Will Wolford, on the fifth-floor balcony. "But even the highest estimates, I think they blew out of the water. This is unbelievable. They've probably got around 30,000 or so. They could use a few more beer vendors. Betting has not been a problem, but food and drinks have been kind of ridiculous. They just got slammed.
"But it's a real who's who out here tonight for the city."
Among the who's who was former University of Kentucky basketball star Walter McCarty, now a University of Louisville assistant coach.
The first race went off at 6 p.m., and 45 minutes later, every Churchill parking lot was full, with police directing fans to the free parking and shuttles at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium, said David Sweazy, the track's vice president for operations.
Four races into the 11-race program, more than 225 mutuel clerks were on duty compared with 100 the previous Friday and more were being put to work. As of 8:15 p.m., the crowd was 22,500 with more fans streaming in, said track general manager Jim Gates.
"It's great; there's people here like Derby Day," said trainer Don Winfree, standing near the paddock wearing a Hawaiian shirt, as a band played in the background.
Trainer Scooter Dickey saw his horse, More Rum, finish last in the first race, but planned to stay at the track until after the 10th race.
"This is bringing them out good," he said of the crowd. "I just hope all the festivities keep on. I'm trying to find the Ferris wheel, but I can't find it."
The late racing had 34-year-old jockey Corey Lanerie teasing 53-year-old Larry Melancon, who won the first race aboard Kinsale With Me and who has been riding at Churchill since the mid-1970s.
"He had to go to the nursing home and take a nap today so he's tough tonight," Lanerie joked.
Melancon said he never thought there would be night racing at Churchill Downs, but he liked what he saw of the crowd.
"If you knew it would be like this all the time, you'd say, 'Yeah,' " he said. "But I'm done riding, so I'm still not under the lights."
Some fans complained about the $10 general admission price, but most people interviewed said they'd gotten in free on passes or for $1 with their Twin Spires Club membership, which had a huge enrollment in recent days.
Long-time fan Bob Casamer, who cuts hair at Cutting Edge on Dixie Highway, said the shop closed a little early so he could make the track's first night races.
"It's a good option," he said. "But the cost was a little high. I thought the whole idea was to get new people."
Bill Carstanjen, Churchill Downs Inc.'s chief operating officer, said the early crowd exceeded expectations.
"Two thumbs up, so far," he said as he surveyed the mob near the paddock before the third race."
Carstanjen said sales were brisk with people buying the $15 pass that allows patrons in for all three nights of racing.
"Look at the betting lines, look at the concession lines," he said. "There are a lot of people here, and they're having a good time."
As much a hot topic of the evening as night racing and the crowd was the horse industry's efforts to get video slots at racetracks, with proposed legislation having passed the state House earlier in the day.
"It will save me gas money," quipped Mike Fee, adding, "Mr. Williams needs to find another state to live in." Senate President David Williams has said the video slots proposal is a dead issue in the Senate because it doesn't have enough votes for passage.
Chris Cornett, a 20-year-old from Louisville who attends Alice Lloyd College, said he hadn't been to the track since he accompanied his dad to the 1998 Derby. He noted it was better this time, because he could bet.
And, he said, "It will be better when I can drink."
Cornett came with fellow Eastern High School graduates Eric Feldpausch and Chris Hirsbrunner, who attend Kentucky Wesleyan.
"Night racing and these two buddies," Cornett said, when asked what lured him to the track. "But I'm going to come back more."
In fact, they'll be here Friday, June 26, the second of three dates, featuring night racing, he said.
"We have a lot of friends, actually on their way right now, who have never been here,"
Feldpausch. "There are a bunch of people our age who come out here now. It's fun."
Autumn Fenwick, who last attended the races Oaks Day, came out to celebrate her 25th birthday, bringing about 30 of her best friends and family. "When they first came out with (night racing), I said, 'We're going on my birthday,'" she said.
Fenwick, a bartender at Buffalo Wild Wings in St. Matthew, arrived at 4 p.m. in order to secure a prime spot with the new patio furniture near the paddock.
Pat Sheehan, part of the entourage, said he "skipped out of work" to come. But that's OK he's the manager at the restaurant where Fenwick works.
Shari Hall said she and her friends were having "girls' night out," as well as celebrating her birthday on Sunday, June 21.
"And we're celebrating history," added Joyce Blackman.
Comments
If you spent a half-hour waiting in line for a beer at Churchill Downs on Friday night, track officials want to make it up to you if you return for the next "Downs After Dark."
Churchill officials acknowledge they didn't have enough staff or beer trailers to accommodate the 28,000 people who came to the track's first night racing event on June 19.
"No question about it, there were some mistakes we made (Friday) night," said Bill Carstanjen, chief operating officer of Churchill Downs Inc., in an interview at the track on Saturday, June 20. "We heard the message loud and clear. ... There are a bunch of hard lessons we had to learn."
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.
Track patrons reported waiting in line for 20 minutes or longer for beer, and some had to wait for beer tents to replenish their stock of cans.
"You'd be in trouble if you didn't have two (beers) at once," said James Campbell of the South End, who was back at the track Saturday.
Facebook users also peppered Churchill Downs' page on the social networking site with critical comments. "You all were not prepared for that (Friday) night," one user wrote.
Other than shifting staff around to alleviate the longest lines, there wasn't much that could be done to help the situation, Gates said.
"We did as much as we possibly could," he said. "You can't just all of a sudden pull in a new beer trailer."
Carstanjen said demand for food and drink was unusually strong, perhaps because of the humidity as temperatures remained in the 80s.
"One of the things we learned is the Friday-night crowd eats and drinks more than the Friday afternoon crowd," he said. Typically on Fridays, racing starts at 2:45 p.m., or two hours later than the usual post time; the "Downs After Dark" debut kicked off at 6 p.m.
Johnny Haywood of Shively, who went to the track Friday night and Saturday afternoon, said he can understand how Churchill underestimated the crowd, given it was the first time the track had tried night racing.
"If you didn't have a good time, that's your fault," he said.