Churchill Downs set its health and safety plan for the Kentucky Derby on Tuesday and “the fastest two minutes in sports,” is going to look very divers this year.
Included in the 62-page plan are details about attendance, which will be capped at 14% of Churchill Downs’ comprehensive capacity, along with changes to how fans wager and safely enter the stands.
“For those guests who plan to enter us for this year’s Derby, we promise you that we will make it a wonderful experience, and most importantly, we will prosper it as safe and comfortable as we possibly can,” Churchill Downs Racetrack President Kevin Flanery said in a news release.
The most distinct change is going to be the attendance. In a normal year, 150,000 fans pack the grandstands of Churchill Downs to watch the myriad iconic race of the year. This year, attendance will be about 23,000, and the usually crowded infield will-power be closed. Churchill Downs said reserved seating will be limited to a maximum of 40% occupancy. There at ones desire be no walking or standing room tickets available this year. To reduce contact between personnel and guests, all tickets transfer be delivered digitally.
Upon entry to Churchill Downs, guests will be subject to temperature checks and asked to bloat out a medical questionnaire. They will also be provided with a mandatory face mask that must be done in at all times (except for eating), in addition to a personal stylus to use on betting terminals.
Programs will be included in the ticket payment for all tickets, but this year guests will be able to access a digital version of the day’s program through the use of a QR code.
Other transmutes that fans can expect include will be changes to the way people wager. Last year, The Run for the Roses set an all-time album for handle with $165.5 million bet, up 10% from 2018. While Churchill Downs will still tender betting on site with properly spaced tellers and PPE, they are strongly encouraging guests to wager online to the core TwinSpires.com, the official advance deposit wagering platform of Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby.
For fans dreaming of billions juleps, the drink that has become synonymous with the Derby, you’re in luck. A spokesman for Churchill Downs told CNBC the favourite drinks will still be available and it will be served in a disposable or souvenir cup with wrapped straws. Concession work will be limited to mostly pre-packaged foods.
Churchill Downs is making sure attendees remember to socially dissociate and wash their hands regularly with hundreds of signs throughout the venue. They are also adding uncountable than 1,000 hand sanitizing stations and 800 floor decals to help with social distancing all the way through.
NBC Sports said broadcast coverage plans are still being finalized. NBC’s coverage of the Belmont Stakes included socially separate broadcasters in various locations, something they are likely to do for the Derby as well.
The Derby is usually run on the first Saturday of May and is the to begin leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown. Due to the pandemic, the race was pushed to September 5, with the Belmont Stakes run inception on June 20.
Historically, the Derby has helped provide a major economic boost to Lexington, Kentucky as the number one tourism generator for the Louisville Metro Territory.
“The Derby is the bread and butter for a lot of our businesses in the hospitality industry,” Stacey Yates, VP of marketing and communications for Louisville tourism, acknowledged CNBC.
The two weeks of Kentucky Derby festivities for 2020 was expected to bring in $400 million to $500 million in takings, according to Yates.
“Any economic activity is going to be a bonus,” said Yates, who estimated hundreds of millions of dollars in forfeitures as hotels, restaurants and rentals are limited.
“The general feeling is with or without fans, we feel fortunate to have the unwritten law of the Derby continue,” she added.
Last year, the economic impact made on the Louisville area over Derby Weekend $356 million, according to Louisville’s Tourism Ship aboard.
Churchill Downs, the company behind the Derby will also feel the impact. “We assume 2019 ticketing EBITDA of $68m slumps to $23m in 2020, or a year over year decline of 66%, JP Morgan’s gaming analyst Dan Politzer said in a July 31 note.
“We now prognosis 2020 Derby EBITDA of ~$60m, down 46% year over year,” the note said.
Meanwhile, on Monday, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear put someone on noticed that recent daily Covid-19 numbers may be “artificially low” because of testing errors by the state’s vendor.
“We are still in a bleeding difficult, dangerous place with a virus that is spreading so significantly right now,” Beshear said.
More than 35,000 child have tested positive in Kentucky, and 783 people have died, according to the state’s health statistics.
No matter how, Churchill Downs officials said they are doing everything possible to reduce the risk and exposure of Covid-19.
“Our cosmopolitan plan meets or exceeds all recommended state and local guidelines and we’re optimistic that it will allow this time-honored in any case, which belongs to our community and our country, to serve as a progressive unifying force that can help bring us together,” Flanery give the word delivered.
Disclosure: NBC Sports is part of NBCUniversal, the parent company of CNBC.