Churchill Downs and NBC Sports are bringing their own version of “Friday Night Lights” to Louisville this week, as the Kentucky Oaks will air Friday in prime time for the first time since it began in 1875. It’s all part of a brand development push to increase national attention for “Kentucky Derby Week,” an effort that Churchill Downs has leaned into over the last decade.
“We’ve got themed days for almost every day of that week,” said Churchill Downs Racetrack President Mike Anderson, referencing Sunday Funday, 502’s Day (Tuesday), Winsday and Thurby that precede the Oaks on Friday and the Derby on Saturday. “We’ve been trying to grow them.”
During a first-quarter earnings call last week, Churchill Downs Inc. CEO Bill Carstanjen called the slate of events at Churchill around the Derby “comparable to hosting five Super Bowls over the course of one week.”…