Churchill Downs on Tuesday released its health and safety plan for the Kentucky Derby and “the fastest two minutes in sports,” will look very different this year.
Included in the 62-page plan are details on attendance, which will be limited to 14% of Churchill Downs’ total capacity, along with changes to how fans bet and enter the stands safely.
“For those guests who plan to participate in this year’s Derby, we promise you we’ll make it a wonderful experience, and most importantly, we’ll make it as safe and enjoyable as we can,” President Churchill Downs Racetrack Kevin Flanery said in a news release.
The most obvious change will be attending. In a normal year, 150,000 fans flock to the grandstands of Churchill Downs to watch the most iconic race of the year. This year, the attendance will be around 23,000, and it will normally be closed full of infection. Churchill Downs said reserved seats will be limited to a maximum of 40% occupancy. There will be no walking or standing room tickets this year. To reduce contact between staff and guests, all tickets will be delivered digitally.
Upon entry to Churchill Downs, guests will be subjected to temperature checks and asked to complete a medical questionnaire. They will also be provided with a mandatory face mask that must be worn at all times (except for food), in addition to a personal stylus to use on betting terminals.
Programs will be included in the ticket price for all tickets, but this year, guests can access a digital version of the program of the day using a QR code.
Other changes that fans can expect are changes in the way people bet. Last year, The Run for the Roses set an all-time record for handle with $ 165.5 million bet, 10% up from 2018. While Churchill Downs will still offer betting on site with well-spaced counters and PPE, they strongly encourage guests to bet online via TwinSpires.com, the official forward betting platform for Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby.
For fans who dream of coin juleps, the drink that has become synonymous with the Derby, you are in luck. A Churchill Downs spokeswoman told CNBC that the popular drinks are still available and will be served in a disposable or souvenir cup of packed straw. Concession service will be limited to most pre-packaged food.
Churchill Downs ensures that attendees remember to take social distance and wash their hands regularly with hundreds of signs across the room. They also add more than 1,000 hand sanitation stations and add 800 floor pieces to help with social distance through.
NBC Sports said plans for the broadcast are still being finalized. NBC’s coverage of the Belmont Stakes included socially distant broadcasters at various locations, something they are likely to do for the Derby as well.
The Derby is normally held on the first Saturday of May and is the first leg of the Triple Crown of equestrian sport. Due to the pandemic, the race was postponed to September 5, with the Belmont Stakes first on June 20th.
Historically, the Derby has helped deliver a major economic boost to Lexington, Kentucky as the number one tourist generator for the Louisville Metro Area.
“The Derby is the bread and butter for many of our businesses in the hearing,” Stacey Yates, VP of Marketing and Communications for Tourism Louisville, told CNBC.
The two weeks of Kentucky Derby festivities for 2020 were expected to bring in $ 400 million to $ 500 million in revenue, according to Yates.
“Every economic activity will be a bonus,” said Yates, who estimates hundreds of millions of dollars in losses because hotels, restaurants and rentals are limited.
“The general feeling is with or without fans, we feel lucky to continue the Derby tradition,” she added.
Last year, the economic impact on the Louisville area over Derby Weekend made $ 356 million, according to Louisville’s Tourism Board.
Churchill Downs, the company behind the Derby will also feel the impact. “We expect ticketing EBITDA to decline from $ 68 million to $ 23 million in 2020, as a year-over-year decline of 66%,” JP Morgan gaming analyst Dan Politzer said in a July 31 note.
“We now forecast 2020 Derby EBITDA of ~ $ 60 million, down 46% year over year,” the note said.
Meanwhile, on Monday Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear warned that recent daily Covid-19 numbers could be “artificially low” due to testing errors by the state’s vendor.
“We are still in a very difficult, dangerous place with a virus that is spreading just as significantly right now,” Beshear said.
More than 35,000 people tested positive in Kentucky, and 783 people died, according to state health statistics.
However, Churchill Downs officials said they are doing everything possible to reduce the risk and exposure of Covid-19.
“Our comprehensive plan meets more than recommended state and local guidelines and we are optimistic that it will allow this growing event, which belongs to our community and our country, as a progressive unifying force that can bring us together,” he said. Say Flanery.
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