TacticScaleWhat Churchill Downs Does & How It Makes Money (CHDN)
Updated October 2026 · reflects Churchill Downs's latest reported financials
Kentucky Derby host running racetracks, online betting, and regional casinos. It earns money from wagering and gaming revenue (pari-mutuel commissions, slots, table games, historical racing machines, and sports betting), plus racing event income like admissions, seat licenses, sponsorships, and TV rights.
How Churchill Downs makes money
It earns money from wagering and gaming revenue (pari-mutuel commissions, slots, table games, historical racing machines, and sports betting), plus racing event income like admissions, seat licenses, sponsorships, and TV rights. It also sells wagering systems, technology services, and data to third parties.
What Churchill Downs does
Churchill Downs Incorporated, founded in 1875 and headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, is a U.S. racing, online wagering, and gaming company. It reports three segments: Live and Historical Racing, which includes Churchill Downs Racetrack and historical racing properties in Kentucky, Virginia, and New Hampshire; Wagering Services and Solutions, built around the TwinSpires online horse-racing wagering platform plus sports betting, United Tote, Exacta, and BRIS data; and Gaming, which runs regional casino properties and their associated racetracks. Revenue comes from pari-mutuel wagering, slot machines, table games, video lottery terminals, and historical racing machines, along with race-day income such as admissions, personal seat licenses, sponsorships, and television rights. The company also earns fees by supplying wagering systems, central determinant technology, and technology services to other operators.
Products & services
- Churchill Downs Racetrack
- TwinSpires
- Historical racing machines (HRMs)
- Regional casinos
- United Tote
- Bloodstock Research Information Services (BRIS)
What is Churchill Downs worth?
On an owner-earnings DCF, Churchill Downs's most-likely value is about $100 versus a recent price near $80 (25% below fair value). But TacticScale only calls a stock undervalued when the price sits below its conservative no-growth floor (~$54) with a margin of safety — so the honest verdict here is “Fairly priced — no edge.” Fair value earns its keep only at the extremes, not in the wide middle.
Price sits in the normal range — fair value isn't actionable here; it earns its keep only when price drops below the no-growth floor, or runs to roughly double the optimistic case.
⚠ High leverage — net debt is 10.2× annual cash flow. Net debt is subtracted from this fair value, but refinancing at higher rates, principal timing, and share dilution aren’t modeled — the equity can be worth far less if cash flow weakens.
Analysis, not advice. Fair value is a margin-of-safety estimate from a deterministic owner-earnings DCF, not a price target or recommendation. See the full breakdown →
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