Churchill Downs - View this location on map Modeled after Epsom Downs in England, this track was laid out in 1874 by Col. Meriwether Lewis Clark, a prominent Louisville horse breeder, in an attempt to stimulate the thoroughbred industry. Since 1875, it has been the home of the Kentucky Derby, the internationally renowned race of three-year-old thoroughbred horses, the first phase of the Triple Crown. 700 Central Avenue, Louisville, Kentucky Historical

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