Churchill Downs: America's Most Historic Racetrack by Gatto Kimberly

Author:Gatto, Kimberly [Gatto, Kimberly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing Inc.
Published: 2010-03-19T04:00:00+00:00

Early in 1938, when we knew that the crowd that roams around in the grandstand area was almost causing the walls of the fences to bulge on Derby Day, we decided to lessen the pressure by building a tunnel through to the infield, and a succession of terraces in the infield to take care of the overflow .

The infield became a separate unit of the plant. The terraces provided seats for those who wanted to sit, between races, and something to stand on to watch the races. There were separate betting booths in the infield, separate refreshment stands, and all other comforts which the patrons could find in the grandstand area . 35

The mint julep became the official signature drink of Churchill Downs in 1938, when it was served in souvenir glasses rather than paper cups. Matt Winn commissioned British-born Harry M. Stevens, the aptly named “King of Sports Concessions,” as the concessionaire for Churchill Downs. (Stevens, incidentally, was credited with introducing the hot dog to baseball.) The first julep glasses were actually used to serve water but were so popular with patrons that they began disappearing from the tables in the dining area. At that time, track managers decided to allow patrons to keep the glasses for an additional payment of twenty-five cents per glass. In 1939, the Libbey Glass Co. of Toledo, Ohio, was commissioned by Stevens and Churchill Downs to create an official mint julep glass. The glass, which featured colorful designs, increased sales of mint juleps substantially.

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