Permanent lights coming to Churchill

[NTamm1215]

Churchill Downs will install permanent lights at its Louisville racetrack by the start of next year's spring meet, the track announced Monday.

The installation will allow Churchill to hold live racing at night during its 2010 meets, in a permanent follow-up to an experiment during the 2009 spring meet. Liz Harris, a spokeswoman for the company, said Monday that officials had not yet determined how many live cards would be held at night next year.

"We're still gathering the information, talking to horsemen and the community," Harris said. "We're going to very carefully evaluate the feedback. We don't want to too much, because then it's not a novelty anymore."

Churchill held three Friday night racing cards during the 2009 spring meet. The cards, which included specials on concessions, drew approximately 90,000 customers in total, more than four times the total attendance on the three comparable Fridays in 2008. Ontrack handle was up 250 percent, though all-sources handle was up only 10 percent.

http://www.drf.com/news/article/107613.html

NT