Churchill Downs Incorporated Names Katherine Armstrong VP of Culture

LOUISVILLE, Ky., May 06, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Churchill Downs Incorporated (“CDI” or “Company”) (Nasdaq: CHDN) announced today that Katherine Armstrong has been hired as Vice President of Culture (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) for the Company. The new role will report directly to Bill Carstanjen, Chief Executive Officer of CDI.

As the Vice President of Culture, Armstrong will be part of the senior leadership team of CDI and will lead the Company’s efforts to expand its strategic vision as part of the Company’s core mission and values to systemically advance a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion. Armstrong will develop and drive diversity initiatives and create opportunities to share best practices across the business segments.

“Katherine brings a deep understanding of advancing company culture and diversity, equity and inclusion to this role,” said Carstanjen. “She is an experienced, proactive and strategic advocate, partner and leader, who has developed constructive relationships and supported strong cultural initiatives in her previous roles.”

Prior to this role, Armstrong was the Founder and President of Success Track LLC, a strategic advisory and training group with an emphasis on Culture Transformation, DE&I Strategy, HR Analytics and Leadership Coaching. She also served in several significant roles with Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., Hyatt Hotels Corporation, PNC Financial and Ameristar Casino in Vicksburg, Mississippi.

“I am honored and excited to lead the advancement of the culture at CDI,” said Armstrong. “This is a pivotal time in the Company’s growth and I am humbled to be part of the senior leadership team that will work together to shape the diversity, equity and inclusion of this great organization in the future.”

Armstrong holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Jackson State University.

About Churchill Downs Incorporated

Churchill Downs Incorporated is an industry-leading racing, online wagering and gaming entertainment company anchored by our iconic flagship event, the Kentucky Derby. We own and operate three pari-mutuel gaming entertainment venues with approximately 3,050 historical racing machines in Kentucky. We also own and operate TwinSpires, one of the largest and most profitable online wagering platforms for horse racing, sports and iGaming in the U.S. and we have seven retail sportsbooks. We are also a leader in brick-and-mortar casino gaming in eight states with approximately 11,000 slot machines and video lottery terminals and 200 table games. Additional information about CDI can be found online at .

Certain statements made in this news release contain various “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by the use of terms such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “predict,” “project,” “seek,” “should,” “will,” and similar words or similar expressions (or negative versions of such words or expressions). 

Although we believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Important factors, among others, that may materially affect actual results or outcomes include the following: the impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and related economic matters on our results of operations, financial conditions and prospects; the occurrence of extraordinary events, such as terrorist attacks, public health threats, civil unrest, and inclement weather; the effect of economic conditions on our consumers' confidence and discretionary spending or our access to credit; additional or increased taxes and fees; the impact of significant competition, and the expectation the competition levels will increase; changes in consumer preferences, attendance, wagering, and sponsorships; loss of key or highly skilled personnel; lack of confidence in the integrity of our core businesses or any deterioration in our reputation; risks associated with equity investments, strategic alliances and other third-party agreements; inability to respond to rapid technological changes in a timely manner; concentration and evolution of slot machine manufacturing and other technology conditions that could impose additional costs; inability to negotiate agreements with industry constituents, including horsemen and other racetracks; inability to successfully expand our TwinSpires Sports and Casino business and effectively compete; inability to identify and complete expansion, acquisition or divestiture projects, on time, on budget or as planned; difficulty in integrating recent or future acquisitions into our operations; costs and uncertainties relating to the development of new venues and expansion of existing facilities; general risks related to real estate ownership and significant expenditures, including fluctuations in market values and environmental regulations; reliance on our technology services and catastrophic events and system failures disrupting our operations; online security risk, including cyber-security breaches, or loss or misuse of our stored information as a result of a breach, including customers’ personal information, could lead to government enforcement actions or other litigation; personal injury litigation related to injuries occurring at our racetracks; compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act or applicable money-laundering regulations; payment-related risks, such as risk associated with fraudulent credit card and debit card use; work stoppages and labor issues; risks related to pending or future legal proceedings and other actions; highly regulated operations and changes in the regulatory environment could adversely affect our business; restrictions in our debt facilities limiting our flexibility to operate our business; failure to comply with the financial ratios and other covenants in our debt facilities and other indebtedness; and increase in our insurance costs, or obtain similar insurance coverage in the future, and inability to recover under our insurance policies for damages sustained at our properties in the event of inclement weather and casualty events.

We do not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.