John Asher
Vice President, Racing Communications
(502) 636-4586 (Office) * (502) 494-3626 (Mobile)
[email protected]
Darren Rogers
Senior Director, Communications
(502) 636-4461 (Office) * (502) 345-1030 (Mobile)
[email protected]
700 Central Ave., Louisville, KY 40208
*
(502) 636-4400
*
ChurchillDowns.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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Twitter.com/ChurchillDowns
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Facebook.com/ChurchillDowns
Winter 2011
KENTUCKY DERBY, KENTUCKY OAKS POST POSITION DRAWS
KENTUCKY DERBY: The Post Position Draw for the Kentucky Derby will be held Wednesday, May 4 from 5-6
p.m. ET in the Secretariat Lounge on the second floor of the Clubhouse. The event will be televised live on VERSUS
and local affiliates. Media credentials must be displayed for appropriate access.
In 2010, the Kentucky Derby Post Position Draw reverted back to a traditional “pill pull” where horses’ entry blanks
are pulled simultaneously with a numbered pill to determine what stall a horse will break from in the starting gate.
(Note: Churchill Downs previously used a two-tier process for 12 years from 1998-2009, a format that was created for
live television with the hope of adding more drama and suspense. Instead of horses merely being assigned a post
position, the connections of each horse would select their starting spots. First, there was a “pill pull” that would
determine what order a horse’s connections would pick there place in the starting gate. After the selection order was
established and a break for strategizing, the post position selection process would follow, much like a draft in other
professional sports.).
The field for the Kentucky Derby will be limited to 20 horses with preference given to horses with the most graded
stakes earnings. Entries close Wednesday, May 4 at 10 a.m. ET. Once the post position draw is complete, horsemen
will be available for comment in a designated area for media. Also, key horsemen will participate in a Kentucky Derby
Post Position Draw News Conference in the Auxiliary Media Center (Time: TBD).
KENTUCKY OAKS: The Post Position Draw for the Kentucky Oaks will be held Tuesday, May 3 at 11 a.m. ET in
Churchill Downs’ Racing Office.
Post positions for the Kentucky Oaks are determined by a traditional “pill pull” where horses’ entry blanks are pulled
simultaneously with a number pill to determine which post a horse will break from the starting gate.
The field for the Kentucky Oaks will be limited to 14 horses with preference given to the horses with the most graded
stakes earnings.
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