UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON,
D.C. 20549
FORM
8-K
CURRENT
REPORT
PURSUANT
TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) of the
SECURITIES
EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Date
of Report (Date of earliest event reported): September 2,
2005
(Exact
name of registrant as specified in its charter)
|
Kentucky
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0-1469
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61-0156015
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(State
or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)
|
(Commission
File Number)
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(IRS
Employer
Identification
No.)
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700
Central Avenue, Louisville, Kentucky 40208
(Address
of principal executive offices)
(Zip
Code)
(502)
636-4400
(Registrant's
telephone number, including area code)
Not
Applicable
(Former
name or former address, if changed since last report)
Check
the
appropriate box below if the Form 8-K is intended to simultaneously satisfy
the
filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following
provisions:
|
[
]
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Written
communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17
CFR
230.425)
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|
[
]
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Soliciting
material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR
240.14a-12)
|
|
[
]
|
Pre-commencement
communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17
CFR
240.14d-2(b))
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|
[
]
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Pre-commencement
communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17
CFR
240.13e-4(c))
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Page
1
CHURCHILL
DOWNS INCORPORATED
INDEX
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Item
7.01
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Regulation
FD Disclosure
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On
September 2, 2005, Churchill Downs Incorporated issued a press release
announcing, among other things, that it is exploring options to conduct
its Fair Grounds race meet at Harrah's Louisiana Downs. A
copy of
the press release is attached as Exhibit 99.1 to this Current Report
on
Form 8-K.
|
|
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Item
9.01
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Financial
Statements and Exhibits
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99.1
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(c)
Exhibits
Press
release issued by Churchill Downs Incorporated, dated September 2,
2005.
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Page
2
SIGNATURE
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant
has
duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto
duly authorized.
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CHURCHILL
DOWNS INCORPORATED
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September
2, 2005
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/s/
Thomas H. Meeker
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Thomas
H. Meeker
President
and Chief Executive Officer
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Page
3
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FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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Contact:
Julie Koenig Loignon
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(502)
636-4502 (office)
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|
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(502)
262-5461 (mobile)
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juliek@kyderby.com
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CHURCHILL
DOWNS INCORPORATED EXPLORES OPTIONS TO CONDUCT
FAIR
GROUNDS RACE MEET AT HARRAH’S LOUISIANA DOWNS
LOUISVILLE,
Ky. (Sept. 2, 2005) - Churchill
Downs Incorporated (“CDI” or “Company”) (Nasdaq: CHDN) is exploring options to
conduct a portion of Fair Grounds Race Course’s 2005-2006 live race meet at
Louisiana Downs in Bossier City, La. In making the announcement, CDI’s President
and Chief Executive Officer Thomas H. Meeker also elaborated on CDI’s ongoing
efforts to locate and provide financial assistance to its Louisiana employees,
as well as other offers of assistance from within the horse racing
industry.
Discussions
Underway to Conduct Fair Grounds Race Dates at Louisiana
Downs
“While
we
are still assessing the state of our Louisiana business operations, it is
highly
improbable that we could conduct a race meet at Fair Grounds Race Course
given
the level of devastation now evident throughout the New Orleans community,” said
Meeker. “We are currently in discussions with the management team at Louisiana
Downs, its parent company, Harrah’s Entertainment Inc., and our horsemen to
determine the feasibility of running a portion of Fair Grounds’ 2005-2006 race
dates at Harrah’s Louisiana Downs. We hope to have more concrete information to
share with regards to a revised racing schedule in a matter of
days.”
Company
Efforts Continue to Locate Louisiana Employees
“Our
primary focus continues to be locating our Louisiana team members who have
been
displaced by the storm to get them immediate aid in the form of paychecks,
benefit information and additional forms of assistance,” Meeker continued. “We
have established the CDI
Louisiana Employee Hotline (877-244-5536),
a
toll-free number that puts our Louisiana team members in direct contact with
our
corporate office where human resources personnel are ready to assist them.
Louisiana employees can also send their contact information to us through
Fair
Grounds’ Web site, www.fgno.com.
To
date, we have received hundreds of calls and electronic messages from Louisiana
our team members, who are scattered across the country. We sincerely appreciate
the assistance offered by media outlets and our contacts throughout the horse
racing industry in publicizing our employee hotline.”
CDI
Employees Raising Funds to Aid Coworkers
“CDI
has
an emergency relief fund in place to help its employees across the country,”
added Meeker. “The Company’s HORSE
Program
(Helping
Others Receive Support in Emergencies) was designed to provide financial
aid to
employees and their dependent families in times of emergency, and CDI employees
company-wide are making donations to the HORSE Program to help their Louisiana
coworkers. Our Company will also participate in industry-wide efforts to
raise
funds for Louisiana horsemen and their families.”
Sam
Houston Race Park Offers Assistance
“We
have
received a generous offer of support from the management team at Sam Houston
Race Park in Houston, Texas,” remarked Meeker. “Through our efforts to locate
our Louisiana team members, we have learned that many of them are now in
the
Houston area. The team at Sam Houston, which conducts both Quarter Horse
and
Thoroughbred racing, is prepared to offer employment opportunities to our
displaced employees. We sincerely appreciate the track’s willingness to reach
out to our Louisiana team members in their time of need.”
As
the
Company has previously stated, CDI carries insurance on Fair Grounds and
its
affiliated businesses to cover property loss and business
interruptions.
Churchill
Downs Incorporated, headquartered in Louisville, Ky., owns and operates
world-renowned horse racing venues throughout the United States. The Company’s
racetracks in California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Louisiana
host 121 graded-stakes events and many of North America’s most prestigious
races, including the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks, Hollywood Gold Cup
and
Arlington Million. CDI racetracks have hosted nine Breeders’ Cup World
Thoroughbred Championships - more than any other North American racing company.
CDI also owns off-track betting facilities and has interests in various
television production, telecommunications and racing services companies that
support CDI’s network of simulcasting and racing operations. CDI trades on the
Nasdaq National Market under the symbol CHDN and can be found on the Internet
at
www.churchilldownsincorporated.com.
This
news release contains forward-looking statements made pursuant to the "safe
harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
The
reader is cautioned that such forward-looking statements are based on
information available at the time and/or management’s good faith belief with
respect to future events, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that
could
cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed
in
the statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date the
statement was made. We assume no obligation to update forward-looking
information to reflect actual results, changes in assumptions or changes
in
other factors affecting forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements
are typically identified by the use of terms such as
“anticipate,”“believe,”“could,”“estimate,”“expect,”“intend,”“may,”“might,”“plan,”“predict,”“project,”“should,”“will,”
and similar words, although some forward-looking statements are expressed
differently. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in such
forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that
such
expectations will prove to be correct. Important factors that could cause
actual
results to differ materially from our expectations include: the effect of
global
economic conditions; the effect (including possible increases in the cost
of
doing business) resulting from future war and terrorist activities or political
uncertainties; the economic environment; the impact of increasing insurance
costs; the impact of interest rate fluctuations; the effect of any change
in our
accounting policies or practices; the financial performance of our racing
operations; the impact of gaming competition (including lotteries and riverboat,
cruise ship and land-based casinos) and other sports and entertainment options
in those markets in which we operate; the impact of live racing day competition
with other Florida, Louisiana and California racetracks within those respective
markets; costs associated with our efforts in support of alternative gaming
initiatives; costs associated with our Customer Relationship Management
initiatives; a substantial change in law or regulations affecting our
pari-mutuel and gaming activities; a substantial change in allocation of
live
racing days; litigation surrounding the Rosemont, Illinois, riverboat casino;
changes in Illinois law that impact revenues of racing operations in Illinois;
a
decrease in riverboat admissions subsidy revenue from our Indiana operations;
the impact of an additional Indiana racetrack and its wagering facilities
near
our operations; our continued ability to effectively compete for the country’s
top horses and trainers necessary to field high-quality horse racing; our
continued ability to grow our share of the interstate simulcast market; our
ability to execute our acquisition strategy and to complete or successfully
operate planned expansion projects; our ability to successfully complete
any
divestiture transaction; our ability to adequately integrate acquired
businesses; market reaction to our expansion projects; any business disruption
associated with our facility renovations; the loss of our totalisator companies
or their inability to provide adequate reliance on their internal control
processes through SAS 70 reports or to keep their technology current; the
need
for various alternative gaming approvals in Louisiana; our accountability
for
environmental contamination; the loss of key personnel and the volatility
of our
stock price.
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END
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