Churchill Downs one week before the Derby and continues until early July. The Kentucky Derby is held the first Saturday in May and the Kentucky Oaks is run on the Friday before the Derby. A fall meet picks up in late October and closes Thanksgiving weekend in late November. A third meet in September was added in 2013. In addition to the track, clubhouse and stables, Churchill Downs also contains the Kentucky Derby Museum which focuses on the history of the Kentucky Derby and Churchill Downs. The museum also contains a number of exhibits exploring the training and racing of thoroughbred horses.
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