Report: Churchill Downs will boost promotion of Kentucky Oaks

Churchill Downs Inc. CEO Bill Carstanjen said the company will step up its efforts to promote the Kentucky Oaks to a wider audience.

Daily Racing Form reported that Carstanjen said the goal is "bursting past the racing bubble" with the Oaks, which is held the day before the Kentucky Derby.

Speaking at the Racing and Gaming Conference in Saratoga Springs on Tuesday, Carstanjen said the recently announced move of the race into a prime-time spot on NBC-TV is expected to increase viership to 1million next year from 300,000 this year, when it was shown on the USA network, according to the report.

The handle on the Oaks card last year was $73.9 million, according to the report, ranking it behind the Triple Crown race cards and the Saturday Breeders’ Cup card.

Carstanjen said the history of the Oaks work provides an advantange in the effort to increase interest in racing, according to the report.

“It’s not easy to create new events in the U.S.,” he said. “It’s hard to cut through the clutter and the morass to reach people en masse.”