LEXINGTON, Ky. _ Churchill Downs is still hosting the Kentucky Derby on Sept. 5 and even planning for fans, but it is becoming clear that the Louisville track won't see anything close to even reduced attendance projections.
On Thursday, Churchill Downs Inc. CEO Bill Carstanjen said in a conference call that as the coronavirus spiked in Kentucky the racetrack cut off general admission ticket sales.
"We are not selling any GA tickets right now," Carstanjen told stock analysts. "We had sold a bunch. But we have stopped selling GA. We are well under the capacity we had discussed with the governor but we've stopped anyway ... because we want to ensure that customers feel safe."
In June, Churchill Downs racetrack president Kevin Flanery said that the track had received approval from Gov. Andy Beshear's office to run the race with reduced capacity.
Normally the Run for the Roses, the most famous horse race in the U.S., draws about 150,000 spectators, including about 90,000 in general admission with no ticketed seat.
In June, the track said it planned to reduce general admission by more than 60% and reduce reserved seats by 50%, or below 36,000 for general admission and less than 30,000 for reserved seating.
Flanery had said that fans without seats would not be allowed in the grandstand area; normally the area around the saddling paddock, under the grandstand and between the Kentucky Derby Museum and the entry gates is packed.
Fans will be allowed into the infield, he said.
Carstanjen did not give a figure for how many tickets had been sold before the cutoff.
"It's a possibility that we will restore (general admission ticket sales) but we've turned it off," he said.
He also said that the number of temporary structures has been "greatly reduced." These have been used for ticketed spectators in the infield and around the first turn.
Although the 60,000 reserved seats were sold out before the pandemic hit, Carstanjen said Thursday that many have requested refunds or asked that their tickets be rolled forward to 2021, which the track is doing.
"For those who come to the Derby this year, we promise to make it a wonderful experience and make it as safe as we possibly can," Carstanjen said. For those who can't come, NBC will still carry it live.
Fans are not the only ones skipping the 2020 Derby: Carstanjen said a number of sponsors, some feeling their own financial pinch, have asked to move their sponsorship dollars to 2021.
One person who isn't bailing: Beshear. Asked Thursday about the Derby, he said that if Kentucky's numbers in September are where they are now, he will feel safe attending and handing out the winner's trophy.
Other racetracks, including Keeneland in Lexington and Belmont in New York, have raced without fans in the stands this year.
And betting, which is the major component of revenue for the vast majority of horse races, has surged as there have been few other options for gamblers.
In second quarter earnings reported Wednesday, Churchill said net revenue was down $292 million, or 61%, from the same quarter last year, which is usually its best.
But its TwinSpires account deposit wagering company has seen huge growth: Handle was up more than $100 million, or 21.6%, despite the rescheduling of the lucrative Kentucky Oaks and Derby.
