Churchill Downs Incorporated has released a record-breaking Q3 report which saw net revenue reach $393m, an improvement over the $336m of the year before.
The gaming giant, named for its flagship racetrack in Louisville, KY, performed well by other metrics too. Third quarter net income was $61.4m (exceeding the $43.2m of Q3 2020) and adjusted EBITDA was $156.1m (exceeding the $121.9m of Q3 2020).
Racing came back in a big way when compared to 2019, with pent-up demand exploding after the pandemic kept people away from the track. Churchill’s TwinSpires Horse Racing arm was up 56% over 2019 figures, the last year when events happened unimpeded by the health crisis, for an adjusted EBITDA of $31.2 in Q3 2021. TwinSpires’ race handle was up 31% compared to 2019.
Horse racing revenue were actually down this quarter when compared to Q3 2020, the result of the Kentucky Derby being moved to Q3 last year due to the pandemic.
It wasn’t just horse racing that supporting Q3’s strong performance. Churchill’s casino properties saw 7.6 points of margin expansion.
Other highlights of the quarter were underscored as helping the overall strong performance. In Arlington Heights, Illinois, a 326-acre property was sold to the Chicago Bears for $197.2m. At Derby City Gaming Downtown. the 43,000-square-foot venue in Louisville, plans were announced to introduce 500 historical racing machines.
Finally, the board of directors announced a plan to buy back $500m in company stocks and to pay out share dividends to shareholders of record.
