Churchill Downs Incorporated Names T. Kevin Flanery President of Churchill Downs Racetrack
Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ: CHDN) (“CDI” or “Company”) today announced that T. Kevin Flanery has been named the 13th track president of Churchill Downs Racetrack (“Churchill”), home of America’s greatest race, the Kentucky Derby.
Flanery will report to Bill Carstanjen, chief operating officer of CDI, and will remain a Company senior vice president.
Flanery joined CDI in December 2005 as vice president of national public affairs, and was named senior vice president of national public affairs and communications in March 2008. While leading the Company’s legislative and communications initiatives, Flanery headed the successful 2008 campaign to permit Calder Race Course, the Company’s racetrack in Miami, to operate slot machines.
“Kevin’s diverse background in business, government and law has been an asset in his different roles with CDI,” said Robert L. Evans, president and chief executive officer of CDI. “His ability to work with our business partners and other constituencies will be invaluable as we create exciting new racing events for our loyal customers while attracting new fans to our sport.”
“The entire racetrack team at Churchill Downs is looking forward to working with Kevin,” said Carstanjen. “Over the three years he’s spent in the industry, he’s proven that he can blend all that’s great about our history and tradition with the innovation and change necessary to drive racing into the future.”
“The opportunity to lead this nation’s most storied racetrack and the home of the Kentucky Derby is a special honor, and I’m very grateful for this opportunity,” said Flanery. “Having grown up in the surrounding neighborhood, I have an appreciation for what this track means to Louisville and to the state of Kentucky. Preserving the traditions of the past while creating a new and exciting future for racing is a challenge I look forward to tackling, with the help and input of our horsemen, neighbors and customers.”
Before joining CDI, Flanery held a number of key positions in government and private business, including secretary of the Kentucky Finance and Administration Cabinet and president of Hagan Properties, a real estate development company based in Louisville, Ky. A 43-year-old native of Louisville, Flanery has been active in a variety of community activities and currently serves on the board of trustees of Norton Healthcare and the board of directors of St. Francis De Sales High School. He holds a bachelor’s of arts degree in psychology from Bellarmine University and a juris doctor degree from the University of Kentucky College of Law, where he was inducted into the Order of the Coif.
CDI will conduct a search to fill Flanery’s prior roles as head of national public affairs and communications.
Churchill Downs, the world’s most legendary racetrack, has conducted Thoroughbred racing and presented America’s greatest race, the Kentucky Derby, continuously since 1875. Located in Louisville, the flagship racetrack of Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ Global Select Market: CHDN) also operates Trackside at Churchill Downs, which offers year-round simulcast wagering at the historic track. Churchill Downs will conduct the 136th running of the Kentucky Derby on May 1, 2010. The track’s 2009 Fall Meet is scheduled for Nov. 1-28. Churchill Downs has hosted the Breeders’ Cup World Championships a record six times, and will host the international racing championship again on Nov. 5-6, 2010. Information about Churchill Downs can be found on the Internet at www.churchilldowns.com.
Churchill Downs Incorporated, headquartered in Louisville, Ky., owns and operates world-renowned horse racing venues throughout the United States. Churchill Downs’ four racetracks in Florida, Illinois, Kentucky and Louisiana host many of North America’s most prestigious races, including the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks, Arlington Million, Princess Rooney Handicap and Louisiana Derby. Churchill Downs racetracks have hosted seven Breeders’ Cup World Championships. Churchill Downs also owns off-track betting facilities and has interests in various advance-deposit wagering, television production, telecommunications and racing services companies, including a 50-percent interest in the national cable and satellite network HorseRacing TV™, that support the Company’s network of simulcasting and racing operations. Churchill Downs trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol CHDN and can be found on the Internet at www.churchilldownsincorporated.com.