Churchill Downs to help him run the rack was Col. Matt Winn of Louisville. Churchill Downs prospered and the Kentucky Derby then became the preeminent stakes race for three-year-old thoroughbred horses in North America. During that early period, a new clubhouse was built in order to promote social interaction, and new events such as steeplechases, automobile races, and band concerts were held at the track. The State Fair was held on the grounds, featuring the odd spectacle of two locomotives being intentionally crashed head-on in the infield. On June 5, 1907, African American jockey James Lee set a record that has never
In Excess (horse) at Churchill Downs and In Excess put up slow times in pre-race training on that track. As a result, his trainer elected to run him in the Breeders' Cup Mile on grass, a surface he had won on in England and the United States. In Excess finished ninth in the Mile, his worst American finish ever, and it cost him the Horse of the Year title. In Excess raced in 1992 at age five, with his best Graded stakes results a second in the San Antonio Handicap, and a third in both the Metropolitan and Carter Handicaps. Retired to stud