Oaks News

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (March 31, 2006) - Officially licensed merchandise for the 132nd running of Churchill Downs' historic Kentucky Oaks - bearing a special event logo created by Churchill Downs' in-house graphic designers - is now available for online and retail purchase.

The release of the 2006 line of Kentucky Oaks products marks the second year in which Churchill Downs has offered officially licensed merchandise for the historic 1 1/8-mile race for 3-year-old fillies that has been dubbed the "Kentucky Derby for Fillies." Like the Kentucky Derby, the $500,000-added Kentucky Oaks dates to the first Churchill Downs racing meet in 1875 and will be renewed in 2006 for the 132nd consecutive year.

The Kentucky Oaks, renewed each year on the eve of the Kentucky Derby, is scheduled this year on Friday, May 5. The race, which is televised by ESPN, is one of the most popular days in American racing and last year attracted record attendance of 111,243. That crowd was third only to the Kentucky Derby, which attracted 156,435, and the Preakness, which drew a crowd of 115,318 to Baltimore's Pimlico Race Course, in attendance at a major America horse race in 2005.

Officially licensed Kentucky Oaks merchandise available this year includes a souvenir glass that bears the official event logo and the names of each of the 131 horses that have won the premiere American race for 3-year-old fillies. Other items available to Kentucky Oaks fans this year include T-shirts, light jackets, pullovers, lapel pins and caps. Also available are posters and note cards with the image of the official "Art of the Kentucky Oaks" painting by Erica Nordean.

Last year's first offering of officially licensed Kentucky Oaks merchandise was well received in the marketplace and the numbers of available items and the selection of merchandise have been expanded this year. There were 7,200 Kentucky Oaks souvenir glasses produced in last year's initial run, but the demand for those glasses proved strong enough that this year's production total was increased to 50,000 glasses.

Like the official event logo for the Kentucky Derby, Churchill Downs Incorporated's graphic services team designed the official logo that adorns all officially licensed event merchandise for the Kentucky Oaks. The centerpiece of the Oaks logo is a lily, which represents the mantle of lilies that is placed over the withers of the victorious filly in the winner's circle celebration following the race. The logo is colored in varying shades of pink and red, with the lily resting beneath a bold, calligraphy-styled rendering of the name of the race and a large 132 that denotes its long history.

"Last year's introduction of officially licensed Kentucky Oaks merchandise included items designed to appeal to a more feminine audience and we have continued that theme in this year's expanded line of Oaks merchandise," said Jim Gates, general manager of Churchill Downs. "We were very pleased with the response to the initial production of Kentucky Oaks merchandise and we hope for solid growth this year for items connected to this increasingly popular sports and social event. The designers on our graphic services team have done a wonderful job of capturing the spirit of the Kentucky Oaks with this year's logo design, and we are confident that fans will love the expanded line of 2006 Kentucky Oaks products that carry that distinctive logo."

Officially licensed Kentucky Oaks merchandise is available for purchase on the Web at The Derby Store at www.thederbystore.com. Information on the 132nd running of the Kentucky Oaks and the history of the premier race for 3-year-olds fillies is available at the official event Web site at www.kentuckyoaks.com.

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