Churchill Downs Inc., the owner of the famous race track that hosts the Kentucky Derby and other gaming properties, is selling off nine casinos as part of a plan to focus on its horse racing and online betting platforms.
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The Kentucky-based gambling company's stock price fell nearly 7% to its lowest levels in six years after announcing the sale plans Thursday, Bloomberg reported.
Churchill Downs said it plans to sell nine casinos in Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Mississippi, New York and Pennsylvania. The properties up for sale include the Calder Casino in Florida, the Terre Haute Casino in Indiana and a Hard Rock Casino in Iowa.
The company hired Macquarie Capital to handle the sale of these properties.
The move is intended to allow Churchill Downs to focus on its horse racing efforts in Kentucky, Louisiana and Virginia, as well as its online betting platform TwinSpires.
“Our intention is to use any asset sale proceeds to significantly reduce our leverage, reinvest selectively in Churchill Downs Racetrack and in other high-return projects and fund the repurchase of shares of our stock,” CDI CEO William Carstanjen said on the company’s Q2 earnings call on Thursday.
Last year, the company agreed to acquire 90% of the ownership in Live Casino in Southern New Hampshire for $180M.
The company doesn’t intend to sell the New Hampshire property or other historical racing machine properties in Kentucky and Virginia.
The company also gave an update on several of its capital projects this week.
Construction is underway on Victory Run, a four-story venue expected to debut at the 154th Kentucky Derby in 2028. The company also detailed plans to expand the Homestretch Club and redevelop a portion of the infield for next year's Derby.
The $280M to $300M Victory Run development would replace uncovered ground-level box seats with a four-story structure including private suites, indoor and outdoor dining, and covered box seating. Calhoun Construction is leading construction on the project.
In 2021, Churchill Downs closed the Arlington International Racecourse in Illinois. The site was later sold to the Chicago Bears for a potential stadium redevelopment.
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