"Downs After Dark" Tops CD Closing Weekend

Billed as “Homecoming Dance: A Night to Remember,” “Downs After Dark” is the centerpiece of closing weekend festivities as Churchill Downs presents the final three days of racing at its new four-week September Meet. Friday’s 10-race program, featuring the City’s Best Happy Hours! from 4-7 p.m. (all times Eastern), will begin at 1:45 p.m. Saturday’s special 11-race evening event starts at 6 p.m. The first race for Sunday’s 10-race finale, including Family Fun Day Presented by Kroger from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., is 12:45 p.m. Saturday’s special nighttime racing and entertainment extravaganza is sure to be “everything your Homecoming Dance should have been – and more ...” Imagine yourself in a dance scene from your favorite high school movie. Guests are encouraged to grab an outfit from their closet inspired by their own high school experience or to wear their favorite homecoming dance-style outfit. There’ll even be a chance for someone to be crowned Churchill Downs’ Homecoming King or Queen prior to the eighth race. Entertainment in the spacious 30,000-square foot Plaza adjacent to the Paddock – typically the heartbeat of the “Downs After Dark” party – includes a Sounds Unlimited Productions DJ from 4-7:30 p.m. and a performance by Radiotronic, which will bring the best music of the ’80s, ’90s and today, from 8 p.m. until closing time at 11:30 p.m. Meanwhile, there also will be music by The Wilson Brothers on the Clubhouse’s fifth floor balcony and a DJ at the Gate 17 entrance. Other entertainment includes the return of the popular text-to-win sweepstakes “Bet or No Bet,” sponsored by Thorntons. Four lucky on-track patrons will face a tough decision: to place a $1,000 win bet on a horse in the upcoming race or take a $100 Thornton’s gift card. The promotion will be held on Races 6, 7, 9 and 10. The featured drink of the night at select locations around the facility will be “Sweet Home Apple Pie,” a tasty concoction featuring el Jimador tequila. Sunday’s closing day card will be complemented by Family Fun Days Presented by Kroger. The 10-race program, which begins at 12:45 p.m., will showcase family-focused activities on the Plaza Balcony throughout the day from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Kids 12 and younger are invited to enjoy games, crafts, visits from the popular mascot Churchill Charlie and a special closing day treat: the Honey Hill Farms Mobile Petting Zoo and Pony Rides in the Plaza until 3:30 p.m. Kids can throw on jockey silks and ride a miniature horse. The petting zoo will include animals such as rabbits, chickens, ducks, sheep, goats, alpacas and a miniature horse and donkey. Also, Kona Ice of Louisville will be on hand to serve premium tropical-shaved ice treats, and Cookies and Canvas will give children the opportunity to paint while enjoying a tasty treat.