SUMMER MUSIC FESTIVAL TO HAVE MAJOR ECONOMIC IMPACT ON GREATER LOUISVILLE

May 22, 2010

Projected Festival Attendance of More than 90,000 Visitors to Generate $37.7 Million for Local Economy Over Three-Day Event

The inaugural HullabaLOU Music Festival at Churchill Downs Racetrack is expected to generate $37.7 million in economic impact for the Greater Louisville market area according to an independent study conducted by Scott Ray & Associates of New Orleans. The firm specializes in economic impact studies of music festivals and special events.

According to the study, the music festival will generate an estimated $19.6 million in direct spending and $18.1 million in indirect and induced spending, which results in $37.7 million in total economic impact. That local investment will also generate approximately $12.7 million in earnings for regional workers and an estimated $2.8 million in state and local tax revenue to further boost the Louisville and Southern Indiana economy.

“Music festivals are significant draws for tourism and Louisville's summer line-up is slated to be one of the strongest in recent years,” Louisville Convention & Visitors Bureau (LCVB) President Jim Wood said. “The Visitors Bureau applauds Churchill Downs Entertainment Group (CDE) for launching this new event and creating the economic impact it will have on our hotels, restaurants, attractions and retail outlets. HullabaLOU is a tremendous addition to Louisville and the Commonwealth of Kentucky.”

The HullabaLOU economic impact study estimates 30,000 people per day will attend the music festival scheduled for July 23-25, 2010, with one-half of the visitors coming from outside of the city of Louisville. These visitors are expected to spend significant amounts in the local economy outside of the festival grounds. Estimated spending by HullabaLOU patrons on local hotels, food and beverage, retail shopping, other entertainment and transportation is expected to total $6.4 million. The LCVB verified an average room rate of $120 a night in Louisville. Using this rate, HullabaLOU visitors should spend well over $3 million on hotel rooms in the Louisville area in association with traveling to the city to attend the festival.

“Our company wants HullabaLOU to be a major tourism attraction for Louisville during the summer months as well as a distinctive musical celebration for our home community,” CDE President Steve Sexton said. “We anticipate a variety of festival attendees who appreciate many music genres, including country, classic rock, bluegrass and adult-contemporary. HullabaLOU will also offer attendees a variety of foods, arts and crafts showcased in an outdoor festival atmosphere. To date, we’ve sold tickets in 42 states and as far away as Great Britain, and we’re looking forward to bringing music fans from around the world to Louisville to enjoy world-class music under the historic Twin Spires.”

HullabaLOU kicks off Friday, July 23, with a total of 66 artists over three days on five stages in an outdoor lawn setting, including a main stage with special reserved seating. Tickets are still available through www.hullabaLOUfest.com and www.ticketmaster.com and at all Kroger stores.

About Churchill Downs Entertainment

Churchill Downs Entertainment (“CDE”) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Churchill Downs Incorporated (“CDI”) located in Louisville, Ky., that was formed to conceive, develop, produce and manage large-scale entertainment events at CDI and non-CDI properties. The immediate success of headline concerts by the Rolling Stones (2006) and The Police (2007) at the historic home of the Kentucky Derby led to the creation of CDE, which is also based in Louisville.