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.
Crown Royal Cup Series races since 2006. From 2004 until 2006, Crown Royal was the title sponsor of the International Race of Champions. Crown Royal is a sponsor of the Grand American Road Racing Association's Rolex Sports Car Series. In 2010, it also began sponsoring the #60 Daytona Prototype car of Michael Shank Racing in the Rolex Sports Car Series. The brand was a primary sponsor of the Washington International Horse Show for several years in the 1990s and since 1995 has sponsored the Crown Royal American Turf Stakes, a Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Churchill Downs. Crown Royal Crown Royal