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Churchill taps Ticketmaster for Derby ticketing

Churchill Downs has signed a five-year deal with Ticketmaster as its new ticket provider for the Kentucky Derby and other races at the track.

Tickets for the Derby, the oldest continuously held sporting event in the U.S., will now be available for the first time through a platform outside of Churchill Downs. Tickets to the Derby, sister race the Kentucky Oaks and other races and track events will be sold through Ticketmaster’s distribution network, including Ticketmaster.com. Customers can also buy tickets for both the Kentucky Derby and Oaks at KentuckyDerby.com.

Churchill Downs sells 67,000 fixed seats for Kentucky Derby, plus GA.
Photo by: GETTY IMAGES
Financial terms were not disclosed.

Ticketmaster was chosen after Churchill Downs issued a request for proposal and talked with six ticketing operators, said Sarah Contardo, Churchill Downs vice president of ticket sales and strategy. Ticketmaster was one of three ticket providers invited to give presentations to track executives in Louisville, Ky., she said. She would not reveal the other candidates.

Ticketmaster will handle sales for next year’s race, the 142nd Kentucky Derby, to be held May 7.

It replaces SeatAdvisor, which had been Churchill Downs’ ticket partner since 2010. Before that, the track did not have a ticket company partner.

“Ticketmaster really provided the most comprehensive solution for our needs,” Contardo said. “We really have a complex venue and incredibly high demand for our tickets, and they were the provider we felt could handle the complexity of our event and our venue and the demand on our event.”

This year’s Derby, won by Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, drew a record crowd of 170,513 (see chart). Churchill Downs in Louisville has about 67,000 fixed seats and sells them out as well as about 100,000 general admission tickets.

THEY'RE AT THE GATE

Attendance for the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks has generally been on the rise in recent years.

Year Derby Oaks Combined
2015 170,513 123,763 294,276
2014 164,906 113,071 277,977
2013 151,616 113,820 265,436
2012 165,307 112,552 277,859
2011 164,858 110,122 274,970
2010 155,804 116,046 271,850

Source: Churchill Downs


General admission tickets sell for $50 apiece, while fixed-seat ticket prices range from about $220 to a high of $10,000 each for the 296-seat luxury area known as The Mansion. Most of the ticket prices for the fixed seats range from $220 to $500 and include seats for the Kentucky Oaks, a race for 3-year-old fillies, held the day before the Derby.

“They have some unique needs with that amount of inventory,” said Clay Luter, Ticketmaster’s senior vice president of stadium, college and outdoor. “It is so segmented, from general admission tickets in the infield to very high-end, very exclusive premium areas.”

Said Luter, “They were looking for a partner who could help them really manage all those different areas and find a way to provide a really good end experience for all those high-end customers.”

Tickets for the 2016 Kentucky Derby will be available in a presale Nov. 10 and to the general public Nov. 12. The Derby typically sells out all of its seats by sometime in January, Contardo said.

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