From Louisville Business First, November 23, 2020

Churchill Downs Racetrack is spending $10 million on a new turf course the track said will widen the running surface and “increase the durability” for increased turf racing throughout the year.

The Louisville-based racetrack announced the project Monday and said it will start construction immediately after the conclusion of the 2021 Spring Meet. The new course is slated to open by the start of the 2022 Spring Meet or sooner if growing conditions permit, according to a news release.

Churchill Downs hosts about 700 races annually and roughly 25% of those races are ran on the turf. The Matt Winn Turf Course, a 7/8-mile oval located inside the one-mile dirt track, is the original turf course dating back to grass racing’s debut at Churchill Downs in 1985. It includes a mix of Kentucky 31 fescue and bluegrass grown in a topsoil layer over a 13-inch course masonry sand base.  Click here to read more from Business First.