Churchill Downs forms another ownership group

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Buoyed by its successes of the past year, officials with Churchill Downs Inc. have announced formation of another ownership group open to the public.

For a one-time fee of $500, new members can buy into a 2-year-old to be trained by Dallas Stewart. A Gio Ponti filly, the 2-year-old was recently purchased for $52,000 at the Ocala Breeders’ Sales auction. The Churchill Downs Racing Club will sell 200 shares in the filly, as has been done with other partnerships since the concept was implemented last spring.

The Racing Club already has partnerships in three 3-year-olds, all of whom had purchase prices in the $50,000 to $60,000 range. They are:

– Warrior’s Club, an earner of $214,424 from 11 starts, all for trainer D. Wayne Lukas. He runs next in the Grade 3 Pat Day Mile on Kentucky Derby Day.

– Dial Me, an earner of $52,257 from 10 starts, all for Lukas, runs next in a first-level allowance on Kentucky Oaks Day.

– Excitations, a winner of $80,730 from four starts, all for trainer Al Stall Jr., will make his stakes debut in the Pat Day Mile. He is owned by the Fair Grounds Racing Club, a 200-member partnership based at the Churchill-owned track in New Orleans.

The Warrior’s Club group recently reinvested some of its earnings in a 2-year-old by Awesome Again purchased privately by Lukas, said Gary Palmisano, a Churchill employee who is helping to manage all the partnerships.

“Our success has allowed us to further expand,” said Palmisano. “Our members are having such a great time with this.”

Churchill is billing membership as “a low-cost, low-risk glimpse into the life of Thoroughbred ownership.” There are no costs beyond the original $500 dues.

Interested parties in the Gio Ponti filly can register online at ChurchillDowns.com/RacingClub.