Churchill Downs Welcomes 'Top Chef' to Infield Club for 2009 Kentucky Derby and Oaks

Apr 08, 2009 CDI Communications

Churchill Downs will welcome one of cable television’s most-watched shows, Bravo’s Emmy® and James Beard Foundation® Award-winning “Top Chef,” to the Infield Club on Kentucky Oaks and Derby Days, May 1-2, 2009.  Top Chef: The Tour will be part of Churchill’s new Infield Club hospitality area, which allows Derby and Oaks guests to enjoy the exuberant party atmosphere of the traditional infield with an upgraded twist.

The Top Chef Tour will be included in Bravo’s special one-hour telecast, “Ladies First: Bravo at the Kentucky Derby,” on May 1 from 5-6 p.m. EDT. The program will feature the food, fashion and celebrity experience associated with Kentucky Oaks 135; live coverage of the Derby’s sister race, the Kentucky Oaks; and highlights of special on-track events related to Churchill Downs’ new partnership with Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, which leads the global movement for breast cancer research, education, advocacy and community support. Top Chef: The Tour will also be featured as part of NBC’s May 2 coverage of Kentucky Derby 135, beginning with celebrity Red Carpet arrivals at 4 p.m.

The Infield Club is a new, secured hospitality area in the center of the Churchill Downs infield.  It offers amenities that include a 430-foot bar, private mutuel windows, JumboTron televisions, sports bar-style food offerings, disc jockeys, limited shaded seating areas available on a first-come, first-served basis, and upgraded restroom facilities.  Each Infield Club ticket purchase includes all-day track admission and Infield Club access.  Tickets are currently available at a cost of $150 per person for Derby Day and $50 per person for Oaks Day.  Guests planning to attend both the Oaks and Derby can save money buy purchasing a two-day ticket package to the Infield Club for $175. Tickets to the Infield Club may be purchased online while supplies last at www.kentuckyderby.com/infieldclub.

“We are excited to host Bravo’s popular ‘Top Chef’ program as a part of the Infield Club experience during Kentucky Derby weekend,” said Churchill Downs Incorporated Chief Marketing Officer Dave Tompkins. “The show is highly entertaining and enjoys a tremendous fan following. We believe the inclusion of the Top Chef Tour in our newest hospitality area will give customers yet another reason to want to check out the Infield Club in 2009.”

The Top Chef Tour stop at the Kentucky Oaks and Derby will feature some of the show’s “chef’testants” hosting eight interactive shows – four each day – in the Infield Club, with limited reserved seating available. Cooking demonstrations, gourmet tips, show secrets and food tastings will be highlighted from the Top Chef Tour unit, a state-of-the-art customized traveling kitchen with expansive space to accommodate cooks and fans alike.  Top Chef: The Tour will also include trivia contests, information kiosks, and an opportunity for Infield Club guests to interact with the “chef’testants.”

The Top Chef interactive cooking demonstrations will take place on Oaks and Derby Days in the Infield Club at 11:15 a.m., 1 p.m., 3:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. (times subject to change). Fans of the show can reserve a seat in the audience for one of that day’s demonstrations by completing a brief survey, while supplies last, at the Infield Club stage.  A limited number of surveys will be offered, based on the number of reserved seats available which will be assigned beginning with the earliest shows.  Infield Club guests who do not receive a reserved seating pass will be able to view demonstrations from outside of the reserved seating area or from a 50” plasma television in the Top Chef Tour activity area.

Churchill Downs has also released a rendering of the Infield Club and the Top Chef Tour location, available online at www.kentuckyderby.com/infieldclub.

Churchill Downs, the world’s most legendary racetrack, has conducted Thoroughbred racing and presented America’s greatest race, the Kentucky Derby, continuously since 1875. Located in Louisville, the flagship racetrack of Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ Global Select Market: CHDN) also operates Trackside at Churchill Downs, which offers year-round simulcast wagering at the historic track. Churchill Downs will conduct the 135th running of the Kentucky Derby on May 2, 2009.  The track’s 2009 Spring Meet will take place from April 25 through July 5.  Churchill Downs is scheduled to host the Breeders’ Cup World Championships for a record seventh time on Nov. 5 and 6, 2010. Information about Churchill Downs can be found on the Internet at www.churchilldowns.com.

About Bravo
Bravo is a program service of NBC Universal Cable Entertainment, a division of NBC Universal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news and information to a global audience. Bravo has been an NBC cable network since December 2002 and was the first television service dedicated to film and the performing arts when it launched in December 1980.  Information about Bravo can be found on the Internet at www.bravotv.com.