MANDATORY PAYOUT ON SATURDAY’S BLACK GOLD FIVE WITH A CARRYOVER POOL OF $115,874; Black Gold 5 Carryover $115K Mandatory Pay; “No Patrons” Reminder

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Contact: Joe Kristufek
Racing Analyst/Media Relations
[email protected]

 

MANDATORY PAYOUT ON SATURDAY’S BLACK GOLD FIVE WITH A CARRYOVER POOL OF $115,874

Reminder: Fair Grounds “patron free”

New Orleans (March 20, 2020) – Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots announced on Friday that there will be a mandatory payout on the Black Gold Five wager on Saturday, March 21, which is Louisiana Derby Day.
As a “jackpot” wager, the Black Gold Five only pays out in full when there is a single, perfect ticket, but with a mandatory payout on Saturday, all patrons holding a wager with all five winners will get paid their portion of the day’s pool plus the carryover, which stands at $115,874.
The Black Gold Five is a 50-cent wager, and it will cover Saturday’s last five races of the day (8-12) making it an “all stakes” sequence –Tom Benson Memorial presented by Dixie Beer, New Orleans Classic (G2), Muniz Memorial (G2), Twinspires.com Fair Grounds Oaks (G2) and the Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby (G2).
“We are thrilled that the Louisiana Racing Commission gave us special permission to have a mandatory Black Gold Five payout on Saturday,” said Fair Grounds’ senior director of racing Jason Boulet. “Louisiana Derby Day is a big day to begin with, and now it’s even more attractive for horseplayers nationwide.”

Reminder: Louisiana Derby Day “patron free”. Only essential staff, credentialed horsemen and working media will be allowed. Trainers, grooms and owners are only allowed to attend the races in which they have horses entered. Once the that race is over, they must vacate the premises immediately.

A reminder that live racing on Louisiana Derby Day and throughout the remainder of the Fair Grounds meet, which is scheduled to conclude Sunday, March 29 will be spectator-free. Only essential staff, credentialed horsemen and working media will be allowed. Pari-mutuel wagering will also be closed to the public at Fair Grounds through the remainder of the meet. The on-site slot facility and off-site OTB and video poker operations remain closed.
Trainers, grooms and owners are only allowed to attend the races in which they have horses entered. Once the that race is over, they must vacate the premises immediately.
The safety and health of guests, employees and participants remain of primary concern and the team at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots will continue to take every precaution to ensure the comfort and safety of those in attendance. We continue to work very closely with Governor Edwards and Lieutenant Governor Nungesser, Mayor Cantrell and the Louisiana Racing Commission in order to comply with all public health orders regarding COVID-19 and make the most responsible decision for everyone involved.

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About Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots: Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, one of the nation’s oldest racetracks, has been in operation since 1872. Located in New Orleans, LA, Fair Grounds is owned by Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ Global
Select Market: CHDN); it also operates a slot-machine gaming facility and 13 off-track betting parlors throughout southeast Louisiana. The 148th Thoroughbred Racing Season – highlighted by the 107 th running of the Louisiana Derby – will run from November 28, 2019 through March 29, 2020. More information can be found online at www.FairGroundsRaceCourse.com.
Information set forth in this press release contains various “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the “Act”) provides certain “safe harbor” provisions for forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements made in this press release are made pursuant to the Act. 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,” “seek,” “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 expectations include the following: the effect of economic conditions on our consumers’ confidence and discretionary spending or our access to credit; additional or increased taxes and fees; public perceptions or lack of confidence in the integrity of our business; loss of key or highly skilled personnel; restrictions in our debt facilities limiting our flexibility to operate our business; general risks related to real estate ownership, including fluctuations in market values and environmental regulations; catastrophic events and system failures disrupting our operations, including the impact of natural and other disasters on our operations and our ability to obtain insurance recoveries in respect of such losses; inability to identify and complete acquisition, expansion or divestiture projects, on time, on budget or as planned; difficulty in integrating recent or future acquisitions into our operations; legalization of online real money gaming and sports wagering in the United States, and our ability to capitalize on and predict such legalization; the number of people attending and wagering on live horse races; inability to respond to rapid technological changes in a timely manner; inadvertent infringement of the intellectual property of others; inability to protect our own intellectual property rights; security breaches and other security risks related to our technology, personal information, source code and other proprietary information, including failure to comply with regulations and other legal obligations relating to receiving, processing, storing and using personal information; payment- related risks, such as chargebacks for fraudulent credit card use; compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act or applicable money-laundering regulations; compliance with payment processing and payment transmission regulations; work stoppages and labor issues; difficulty in attracting a sufficient number of horses and trainers for full field horseraces; inability to negotiate agreements with industry constituents, including horsemen and other racetracks; personal injury litigation related to injuries occurring at our racetracks; the inability of our totalisator company, United Tote, to maintain its processes accurately, keep its technology current or maintain its significant customers; weather conditions affecting our ability to conduct live racing; increased competition in the horseracing business; changes in the regulatory environment of our racing operations; declining popularity in horseracing; seasonal fluctuations in our horseracing business due to geographic concentration of our operations; increased competition in our casino business; changes in regulatory environment of our casino business; the cost and possibility for delay, cost overruns and other uncertainties associated with the develop.m.ent and expansion of casinos; concentration and evolution of slot machine manufacturing and other technology conditions that could impose additional costs; impact of further legislation prohibiting tobacco smoking; geographic concentration of our casino business; changes in regulatory environment for our advanced deposit wagering, sports wagering, or online gaming businesses; increase in competition in the advanced deposit wagering, sports wagering, or online gaming businesses; inability to retain current customers or attract new customers to our advanced deposit wagering, sports wagering, or online gaming businesses; uncertainty and changes in the legal landscape relating to our advanced deposit wagering, sports wagering, or online gaming businesses; and failure to comply with laws requiring us to block access to certain individuals could result in penalties or impairment in our ability to offer advanced deposit wagering, sports wagering, or online gaming.