Churchill Downs Churchill Downs Churchill Downs, located on Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States, is a Thoroughbred racetrack most famous for annually hosting the Kentucky Derby. It officially opened in 1875, and held the first Kentucky Derby and the first Kentucky Oaks in the same year. Churchill Downs has also hosted the renowned Breeders' Cup on nine occasions, most recently on November 2 and 3, 2018. Churchill Downs Incorporated owns and operates the racetrack. With the infield open for the Kentucky Derby, the capacity of Churchill Downs is roughly 170,000. In 2009, the Horseplayers Association of North America introduced a
Ashton (horse) horses including Constantia, the dam of the St Leger winner Ebor. Serpent, a son of Eclipse, sired no other horses of consequence. Ashton's dam Miss Haworth was a member of Thoroughbred family 29 and therefore closely related to several notable horses including Rowton and Landscape. Ashton was unraced as a two-year-old and made his racecourse debut on 30 May 1809 at York Racecourse. He started the 6/5 favourite for a sweepstakes over one and three quarter miles and won "very easy" from Lord Fitzwilliam's colt Whitenose. In summer he ran a trial race against the stable's 1808 St Leger winner