Churchill Downs Kicks off the Meet & Season

2023 Street Sense winner Liberal Arts. (Coady Photography)

Racing Returns to Churchill Downs Sunday at 1 p.m. for 26-day fall meet

‘Stars Of Tomorrow I’ and ‘Trick-Or-Treat At The Track’ Top Opening Day

Darren Rogers/Churchill Downs

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Horse racing in Kentucky shifts from Keeneland to Churchill Downs on Sunday as the home of the Kentucky Derby readies to open its 135^th Fall Meet with an 11-race program – all for promising 2-year-old Thoroughbreds.

The popular 26-day stand covers a five-week stretch every Wednesday-Sunday through Dec. 1. The first race will be 1 p.m. (all times Eastern) daily except for Thanksgiving Day on Thursday, Nov. 28, which will begin at 11:30 a.m.

The Fall Meet kicks off in style Sunday with the 20^th annual “Stars of Tomorrow I” program, which is entirely devoted to hopeful 2-year-olds with aspirations of trail-blazing their way to next year’s Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (Grade I) and Longines Kentucky Oaks (GI).

Sunday’s opening day card is headlined by the 12^th runnings of two 1 1/16 miles, $200,000 stakes – the open-company Street Sense (GIII) and Rags to Riches for fillies. Each race is a part of the Road to the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks series which award points to the top five finishers (10-5-3-2-1).

The Street Sense and Rags to Riches kickoff a 16-race Fall Meet stakes schedule cumulatively worth $5 million.

Tickets for the Fall Meet are on sale at https://www.churchilldowns.com/day-at-the-races/, and there are plenty of special events and entertainment to complement the world-class racing:

• Family Adventure Day: Trick-or-Treat at the Track (Sunday, Oct. 27): Sunday’s opener comes four days before Halloween and Churchill Downs will present the return of its popular Family Adventure Day: Trick-or-Treat at the Track. Kids 12 and under are encouraged to wear costumes and visit 15 “Trick-or-Treat Boo Stations” scattered throughout the racetrack as Churchill Downs hands out candy between 12:30-4 p.m. There will be more than 15 activities for children to enjoy including a pumpkin patch, face painting (1-4:30 p.m.), arts and crafts stations, bounce houses including a haunted maze and games such as pumpkin bowling, cornhole, giant Jenga, giant checkers, giant Connect 4 and Tic-Tac-Toe. General admission is $9 and up to two children may attend for free per paying adult. For access to Family Adventure Day activities, guests must check in at the Family Adventure Day tent located near the Paddock Gate.

• Stars of Tomorrow I (Sunday, Oct. 27): Every race features 2-year-old Thoroughbreds. Inaugurated in 2005, Churchill Downs’ Stars of Tomorrow programs have helped launch the careers of numerous graded stakes winners, including more than 50 Grade I winners led by Horse of the Year champions Gun Runner (2017) and Rachel Alexandra (2009); Kentucky Derby winners Super Saver (2010), Mandaloun (2021) and Mystik Dan (2024); and Longines Kentucky Oaks winners Rachel Alexandra (2009), Believe You Can (2012), Monomoy Girl (2018), Secret Oath (2022), Pretty Mischievous (2023) and Thorpedo Anna (2024).

• First Responders’ Day (Sunday, Oct. 27): Churchill Downs will honor and celebrate area First Responders. Free general admission is offered to First Responders who present their ID or they can purchase discounted tickets to Millionaires Row or Sky Terrace (subject to availability) for a special $45 lunch by calling (502) 636-4450.

• Stakes Room Brunch (Sundays, Oct. 27, Nov. 3, Nov. 10, Nov. 17, Nov. 24 and Dec. 1) – On Sundays, Churchill Downs is offering a brunch special in the Stakes Room. The $87 package for adults and $34 package for children includes a seat in the Stakes Room on the fourth floor of the Clubhouse and all-you-can-eat access to the brunch menu. 

• Kentucky Derby Future Wager Pool 1 (Wednesday, Oct. 30-Friday, Nov. 1): Pool 1 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager with up to 40 betting interests, including the popular “All Others” option, will open Wednesday, Oct. 30 at noon and close Friday, Nov. 1 at 6 p.m. in advance of the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (GI) at Del Mar. The field for the three-day pool, which features $2 Win and Exacta wagering, will be released Monday, Oct. 28.

• Breeders’ Cup Watch Party (Friday, Nov. 1 and Saturday, Nov. 2): Churchill Downs will simulcast the Breeders’ Cup World Championships from Southern California’s Del Mar on Friday, Nov. 1 and Saturday, Nov. 2. Churchill Downs is offering daily dining packages in Millionaires Row for $67 for ideal balcony viewing of live racing and the Breeders’ Cup simulcast from the Big Board.A simulcast of the 10-race “Future Stars Friday” card from Del Mar will begin at 2:35 p.m. and the Breeders’ Cup will cover Races 6-9 (5:45-7:45 p.m.). Championship Saturday’s 12-race program at Del Mar will commence at 1:05 p.m. with the Breeders’ Cup on Races 4-12 (3:41-8:25 p.m.). The $7 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic (GI) is Race 8 at 5:41 p.m. Live racing on Friday at Churchill Downs features 10 races from 1-6:45 p.m. Saturday’s 11-race live card runs 1-7:20 p.m. Simulcast wagering on the Breeders’ Cup will be available in the Race and Sports Book area on the second floor of the Clubhouse, as well as select dining spaces. Guests who attend Churchill Downs on Friday will be able to advance wager on the entire Championship Saturday program from Del Mar. There is no advance wagering on-track Thursday for the Championship Friday program.

• Senior Days (Wednesdays, Nov. 6 and Nov. 20) – Guests 60 and up will receive $3 general admission or can enjoy lunch and a day at the races in Millionaires Row for $45. Senior Day tickets can be purchased by calling (502) 636-4450.

• Veterans Day: Military Appreciation Day (Sunday, Nov. 10): Churchill Downs will observe and honor those who sacrificed so that we may continue to enjoy our freedoms. and celebrate active and retired military members. Free general admission is offered to active and retired military memberswho present their ID or they can purchase discounted tickets to Millionaires Row or Sky Terrace (subject to availability) for a special $45 lunch by calling (502) 636-4450.

• 26^th Claiming Crown Championship Series (Saturday, Nov. 16): An added feature to this year’s Fall Meet is the 26^th renewal of the Claiming Crown Championship Series, which will be staged at Churchill Downs for the second time on Saturday, Nov. 16. Open to claiming horses, the Claiming Crown features eight races with starter allowance conditions and a super-charged total of $1.1 million in prize money for some of the most competitive, blue-collar horses in the country.

• Thanksgiving Day (Thursday, Nov. 28): Racing on Thanksgiving Day at Churchill Downs has been a Louisville, Ky. tradition since 1969. Around 10,000 turkey dinners will be served with all the trimmings, making it the largest number anywhere in the region. Levy Restaurants chefs will begin to cook Thursday’s Thanksgiving meal around 1 a.m. The menu consists of preparing approximately 8,000 pounds of turkey, 6,000 pounds of spiral ham, 250 gallons of rosemary gravy, 5,000 pounds of mashed potatoes, 150 gallons of cranberry sauce and more than 900 pumpkin pies. Gates open at 10 a.m. and the Chef Tables will be open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The first of 12 races is 11:30 a.m. and the final race goes at 4:43 p.m.

• Kentucky Derby Future Wager and Sire Future Wager (Thursday, Nov. 28-Sunday, Dec. 1): Fans will have their second of six opportunities to place early bets on the 151^st running of the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (GI) Thursday-Sunday with 40 betting interests listed, including the popular “All Others” option. The four-day pool, which features $2 Win and Exacta wagering, will open Thursday at noon and close Sunday at 6 p.m. Pool 2 will run concurrent with the lone Kentucky Derby Sire Future Wager, where fans can bet horses sired by 39 individual sires and an option for “All Other Sires” that were not listed.

• Clark Day (Friday, Nov. 29): The 150^th running of the $600,000 Clark presented by Norton Healthcare (GII) is the most lucrative race on Fall Meet stakes schedule. The 1 1/8-mile test for 3-year-olds and up on “Black Friday” annually lures some of the top horses in North America and is the centerpiece of 10 stakes races scheduled over Thanksgiving weekend. Also, Clark Day is generally the most attended and one of the most wagered upon days during the Fall Meet.

• 2025 Churchill Downs Calendar Giveaway presented by Humana (Friday, Nov. 29): An annual tradition, Churchill Downs will give away a free 2025 Churchill Downs presented by Humana to the first 5,000 guests in attendance. The 2025 calendar is themed with some of the most memorable moments and milestones during the landmark racetrack’s first 150 years.

• Stars of Tomorrow II (Saturday, Nov. 30): Every race features 2-year-old Thoroughbreds, including four stakes races. The featured events are two popular Fall Meet fixtures each worth $400,000 and run at the 1 1/16-mile distance: the open Kentucky Jockey Club and Golden Rod for fillies. Each race is a part of the Road to the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks series which award points to the top five finishers (10-5-3-2-1). Last year, the 12-race program handled a Fall Meet-best $12.5 million in wagers.

2024 CHURCHILL DOWNS FALL MEET STAKES SCHEDULE

2024 CLAIMING CROWN CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES AT CHURCHILL DOWNS

Purse offerings for the Fall Meet are pending approval from the Kentucky Racing and Gaming Corporation.