Thursday, September 6, 2007

Today's Site From Space - Churchill Downs

Today's Site From Space
Churchill Downs - Home of the Kentucky Derby

Viewed From Space on SightseeBySpace.com

From WikiPedia

Churchill Downs, located on Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, is a thoroughbred racetrack most famous for hosting the Kentucky Derby annually. 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 six occasions, most recently in 2006. Churchill Downs Incorporated owns and operates the racetrack.


The track is named for John and Henry Churchill, who leased 80 acres (320,000 m²) of land to their nephew, Colonel Meriwether Lewis Clark, Jr. (grandson of explorer William Clark). Clark was president of the Louisville Jockey Club and Driving Park Association, which formed in 1874. His father-in-law, Richard Ten Broeck, was an accomplished horse breeder and trainer, and introduced Clark to horse racing, attending the English Derby at Epsom Downs outside London.

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