Face-Lift? More Like Extreme Makeover

One of the differences between the old and the rebuilt Churchill Downs can be found at the men’s rooms. The lettering on the doors now reads, “Gentlemen.”

“How clever,” said a wag from California. “Naming them after a Hollywood Gold Cup winner [1997].”

There’s more, of course, to the $121 million in improvements that Churchill has made on an ambitious project that began in July 2002. The grand opening for the virtually new track was a week ago, and the plant and its employees will be tested today and Saturday, when crowds totaling more than 250,000 will attend for the Kentucky Oaks and the Kentucky Derby.

Churchill Downs had gotten terribly rough around the edges and was in need of a renovation.

“It was vital that we made this investment,” said Carl Pollard, chairman of Churchill Downs Inc.

Churchill saddled Derby ticket holders with personal seat licenses -- 30-year leases on tickets -- that raised about $20 million. Seating was increased from 48,500 to 55,514. Luxury suites are expected to produce $8.5 million a year, track officials say.

Some critics are disappointed. The twin spires, which were built in 1894-95, now seem smaller, wedged between two six-story buildings and no longer towering over the track.

“It’s a bit awkward,” wrote Diane Heilenman in the Louisville Courier-Journal. “It does not lie easy on the eye. It does not lie easy on the mind. The two masses balance each other, but the expansion has all the charm of Opryland Hotel.”

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-- Bill Christine