Moustaches, Prostate Cancer Awareness In Vogue in 'Movember' at Churchill Downs

Oct 25, 2011 Darren Rogers

Moustaches will be in vogue at Churchill Downs during the upcoming 21-day Fall Meet as the historic Louisville racetrack teams with the Movember Foundation to raise funds and awareness for men’s health.

Movember kicks off its fifth annual worldwide campaign in the United States, challenging men across the country to show their support by growing a Mo (slang for moustache) this November in support of Prostate Cancer Awareness Month. Churchill Downs will join the effort.

Movember aims to change the face of men’s health by creating a global focus on cancers affecting men. Participation is not only fun, but simple. Men are challenged to start the month clean-shaven and grow a Mo. The mustache becomes the hairy ribbon for men’s health and the guys growing them become a walking billboard for 30 days. The growth of a new Mo inspires conversations about not often talked about topics – men’s health and cancer affecting them.

“Our three-year Kentucky Oaks Day partnership with Susan G. Komen for the Cure to help fight breast cancer was the catalyst for this new philanthropic effort at Churchill Downs,” said Kevin Flanery, president of Churchill Downs Racetrack. “We’re delighted to have forged this partnership with the Movember Foundation. The growth of our moustaches will help prompt private and public conversation around the often ignored issue of men’s health, specifically prostate cancer. Essentially, we’ll become walking, talking billboards throughout the Fall Meet.”

The month-long initiative at Churchill Downs will kick-off Wednesday, Nov. 2 in the paddock area with racetrack officials and employees (including Flanery and Churchill Downs Incorporated Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Bob Evans), industry personalities and local VIPs receiving a clean-shave by Joseph’s Salon & Spa of Louisville. Each participant will spin Churchill Downs’ “Moustache Wheel” to determine the type of Mo they will be challenged to grow throughout the month. On-track patrons can receive a complimentary clean shave, as well. Those unable to grow a moustache can show support by purchasing paper and tattoo moustaches for $1 at customer service booths throughout the racetrack. In addition, “The Fu Manchu-rita” specialty cocktail, consisting of tequila, Cointreau and bit of sour and lime, will be on sale throughout November with $1 being donated from each drink. All proceeds will benefit the Movember Foundation.

Uncle Mo’s presence at Churchill Downs will extend beyond his anticipated run as the likely favorite in the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic on Saturday, Nov. 5. The aptly named 3-year-old Thoroughbreds’ owner, Mike Repole, has graciously given Churchill Downs permission to use Uncle Mo’s name and likeness to promote the month-long cause. Ads promoting the effort feature the horse sporting a moustache.

Near month’s end on Saturday, Nov. 26, Churchill Downs will host a “Stache Bash” during the races to honor and celebrate all of the Mo Bros and Mo Sistas who participated. Churchill Downs will donate $1 per attendee who is sporting a mustache to the Movember Foundation with a minimum guaranteed pledge of $5,000 given through the Churchill Downs Foundation. The day’s festivities will include between-race live music by popular Cincinnati-based My Sister Sarah in the paddock area and Happy Hour drink specials from 3-5 p.m.

Churchill Downs also will host a “Man of Movember” contest in which fans can nominate a prostate cancer survivor to win a day at the races on Millionaires Row on Nov. 26 plus a race named in his honor and ‘stache swag bag. Nominations will be accepted online at ChurchillDowns.com/Movember between Nov. 2-9, and voting will take place Nov. 10-23.

“We are honored and privileged to partner with such a renowned corporation as Churchill Downs,” said Adam Garone, CEO and Co-Founder of Movember. “Their global reach through their well-established channels will encourage more and more people to start talking about the often taboo topics of men’s health, which will better serve our chances to changing the face of men’s health.

“Last year, Movember became a truly global movement. Through the power of the moustache, almost half a million Movember participants raised $174 million, making us the largest non-government funder of prostate cancer research in the world. This success was made possible by the individual efforts of each supporter, and we hope they’ll join us this year, as there is still much work to do. With more than 240,000 new cases of prostate cancer expected this year, the need for new collaborative research is more urgent than ever.”

Americans embraced the moustache in 2010, with nearly 65,000 participants raising $7.5 million for Movember’s U.S. men’s health partners, the Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) and LIVESTRONG, the Lance Armstrong Foundation. With more than 1.1 million Movember participants to date, real moustaches are resulting in real outcomes for the cancer community.

Churchill Downs’ 122^nd Fall Meet opens Sunday at 12:40 p.m. ET and will continue for 21 days every Wednesday through Sunday until Nov. 27. The 28^th Breeders’ Cup World Championships will be held at the historic Louisville oval for a record eighth time on Friday, Nov. 4 and Saturday, Nov. 5.

For more information, please visit www.ChurchillDowns.com or www.movember.com.

CHURCHILL DOWNS RULES FOR MOVEMBER:

1)      Visit ChurchillDowns.com/Movember. Begin the first of Novmeber with a clean shaven face.

2)      For the entire month of November, each “Mo Bro” must grow and groom a moustache.

3)      There is to be no joining of the “mo” to your side burns – that’s a beard!

4)      There is to be no joining of the “handlebars” to your chin – that’s a goatee!

5)      Attend the “Stash Bash” at Churchill Downs on Saturday, Nov. 26.

6)      Each “Mo Bro” must conduct himself like a true country gentleman.

TOP MUSTACHES ACCORDING TO THE AMERICAN MUSTACHE INSTITUTE:

• Chevron – A thick and wide mustache, usually worn to cover the top border of the upper lip.

• Dali – A narrow mustache with long points bent or curved steeply upward (named for artist Salvador Dali).

• English – A narrow divided mustache that begins at the middle of the upper lip, with long whiskers pulled to either side of the center. The areas beyond the corners of the mouth are typically shaved.

• Fu Manchu – A mustache that begins on the upper lip and whose whiskers are grown very long to extend down each side of the mouth down to the jaw. The areas just past the corners of the mouth are shaven, thus differentiating this style from the “horseshoe.”

• Handlebar – A handlebar can be worn large or small (“petit handlebar”); it is characterized by the fact that it is bushy and must be worn long enough to curl the ends upward, which is usually achieved with styling wax.

• Horseshoe – A full mustache with vertical extensions grown on the corners of the lips and down the sides of the mouth to the jawline, resembling an upside-down horseshoe. The whiskers grown along the sides of the mouth in the horseshoe are sometimes referred to as “pipes.” Not to be confused with the “Fu Manchu” which is grown long from the upper lip only – the sides remain shaven in the Fu Manchu.

• Imperial – A large mustache growing from both the upper lip and cheeks, whiskers from the cheeks are styled pointing upward.

• Lampshade – A mustache similar to the “painter’s brush,” but with corners angled slightly, resembling the shape of a lampshade.

• Painter’s Brush – A thick mustache covering the width of the mouth, usually worn short, with slightly rounded corners.

• Pencil – A thin, narrow, closely clipped mustache that outlines the upper lip. Pencil style mustaches can be trimmed in different matters. Also sometimes called a “mouthbrow.”

• Pyramidal – A general name for mustaches shaped narrow on top and wide on the bottom, like a pyramid. Pyramidal mustaches can be shaped in a variety of ways.

• Walrus – A large, bushy, droopy mustache that hangs down over the lips, often entirely covering the mouth.

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: CHDN) also operates Trackside at Churchill Downs, which offers year-round simulcast wagering at the historic track. Churchill Downs will conduct the 138th running of the Kentucky Derby on May 5, 2012. The track’s 2011 Fall Meet, which will include the two-day Breeders’ Cup World Championships for the second consecutive year, is scheduled for Oct. 30-Nov. 27. Churchill Downs has hosted the Breeders’ Cup a record seven times and the event will return to the track on Nov. 4-5, 2011. Information about Churchill Downs can be found on the Internet at www.churchilldowns.com.

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