While traveling in England and France in 1872–1873, 26-year-old Meriwether Lewis Clark devised the idea of a Louisville Jockey Club for conducting race meets.

Clark toured and visited with a number of notable racing leaders, including England's Admiral Rous and France's Vicomte Darn, vice president of the French Jockey Club.

[3][4] Douglas Park was closed and eventually donated to the American Legion,[5][6] while the Lexington track was sold to a group of local businessmen in 1923.

[11] In 1942, the Latonia property was sold to Standard Oil of Ohio, and the operating company's name was changed to Churchill Downs, Incorporated.

[14][15] In April 1950, Churchill Downs, Inc., became an independent company, as its stock was distributed to shareholders of the American Turf Association, which then dissolved.

In April 2002, Churchill Downs Incorporated established the Green Pastures Program in partnership with the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, a leading American racehorse rescue and adoption organization.

[21] Ohio had recently authorized slot machines at racetracks, which the companies took advantage of by transferring the racing license to a new $215-million facility built between Cincinnati and Dayton.

[32][33] The company partnered with Saratoga to purchase Ocean Downs, a harness racing track and casino in Maryland, in January 2017.

[40][41] In September 2018, the company opened Derby City Gaming, a $65-million historical racing parlor, at the site of Louisville Downs.

[42][43] In March 2019, Churchill Downs bought a 62 percent share in Rivers Casino Des Plaines, a few miles away from Arlington Park, from Neil Bluhm and his partners for $401 million.

[44][45] Later that year, Churchill purchased Turfway Park in Northern Kentucky for $46 million, and announced the construction of a $100-million historical racing parlor at the property.

This included Churchill Downs to gain assets in Virginia and New York, in addition to the operations of its Hard Rock-branded Sioux City casino property in Iowa.

[citation needed] Churchill Downs Incorporated owns the following racetrack and casino properties: The company's other business holdings include: