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Churchill Downs Sees the Night Light - 06-19-09
June 19 - Churchill Downs Racecourse in Louisville, Kentucky is a monument to horseracing in the United States; the epicenter of the sport, and host to prestigious races like the Kentucky Oaks and the Kentucky Derby, and tonight (Friday, June 19), it will host night racing for the first time in its 134-year history.
Although the illustrious racecourse has hosted events at night before, tonight will be the first time ever that racehorses will break away from the starting gate under a floodlit sky. Said John Asher, vice president of Churchill Downs, 'There's been a huge amount of anticipation and excitement with the arrival of tonight's racing.'
Today's proceedings kick off with an 11-race card at 6pm Eastern time, which means the last four races of the day will be contested under the floodlights. Because Churchill Downs doesn't have permanent floodlights, it will be reliant this evening on those provided by Iowa-based lighting specialist firm, Musco Lighting.
Churchill Downs staff and punters will for the first time leave the coveted racecourse under the cover of darkness as the proceedings are expected to run until just before midnight. In anticipation of the groundbreaking event, racecourse and Musco staff have been testing the temporary lighting throughout the week.
And, with all the glitches ironed out, the lights are reportedly ready to go for this evening. Most of the lights have been placed outside the circumference of Churchill Down's 1-mile main turf track to point inward. While lights to illuminate the backstretch have been positioned on the infield side of the course, pointing out.
As to what the horsemen themselves think about the night racing, said veteran trainer Dale Romans, 'We're willing to go along with it to see how it goes. Many of us have raced at night quite a bit in the past, so it's not like something foreign.' For the venue's stablehands, however, their working day has just got a lot longer.
After tonight, Churchill Downs is expected two host two more night racing sessions, one on Friday, June 26 and the other on Thursday, July 2. Officials from the venue have admitted that the temporary lighting will likely be a losing financial investment, but well worth exploring for its potential value in the long-term.
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