Senior Day(s) at Churchill Downs Millionaire's Row

[BettinBilly]

Has anyone been to Churchill Downs "Senior Day" at Millionaire's Row? The tickets are $26 and include lunch for horseplayers 60 and older. They have a few dates available this year, all dates occur on a Friday. Gates open at 11:30 AM.

LINK

[Clocker]

Originally Posted by BettinBilly

Has anyone been to Churchill Downs "Senior Day" at Millionaire's Row? The tickets are $26 and include lunch for horseplayers 60 and older. They have a few dates available this year, all dates occur on a Friday. Gates open at 11:30 AM.

I find it hard to imagine any race track lunch worth $26.

[BarchCapper]

Originally Posted by Clocker

I find it hard to imagine any race track lunch worth $26.

A regular reserved seat (including admission and program, but not in Millionaire's Row) is $10 already. So the lunch only needs to be worth $16.

I can drink $16 worth of soft drinks pretty fast (especially at normal track prices). Anything else is a bonus!

[lamboguy]

Churchill has pretty good food there. i would say the deal is more than worth it and highly doubt that the track makes anything at all on your $26

[BettinBilly]

Originally Posted by lamboguy

Churchill has pretty good food there. i would say the deal is more than worth it and highly doubt that the track makes anything at all on your $26

Agreed. Lost leader for the food. They make it up on running money through the windows.

I've never been to "Millionaire's Row", but it looks nice. It appears to be toward clubhouse turn, and has a tiered terrace for race viewing. Pics online look nice for a banquet style restaurant. Am pulling the trigger today on tickets.

[BettinBilly]

Originally Posted by Clocker

I find it hard to imagine any race track lunch worth $26.

I think it's also a "Millionaire's Row" experience, and not just lunch. I suspect it will be a buffet. And I can probably eat 20 bucks worth of food (at today's prices) if I put my mind and stomach to the task.

[BettinBilly]

Originally Posted by BarchCapper

A regular reserved seat (including admission and program, but not in Millionaire's Row) is $10 already. So the lunch only needs to be worth $16.

I can drink $16 worth of soft drinks pretty fast (especially at normal track prices). Anything else is a bonus!

A man after my own heart. I can down $16 worth of Coca Cola (at track prices), I guarantee. Add a burger and fries and I'm over that cap already.

And as I posted above, this lunch is in "Millionaire's Row". Not a big deal to me, but I can imagine some seniors would pay $26 just to be in that club banquet hall. The position on the track looks good.

I always thought that Millionaire's Row at Churchill was trackside, outside. Maybe it's both there, and up on that club banquet hall. I don't know Churchill that well.

[Clocker]

Originally Posted by BettinBilly

I always thought that Millionaire's Row at Churchill was trackside, outside. Maybe it's both there, and up on that club banquet hall. I don't know Churchill that well.

From the picture below, it looks like you would be watching the races on TV sets.

https://www.churchilldowns.com/ticke...ptions/#doc-54

[BettinBilly]

Originally Posted by Clocker

From the picture below, it looks like you would be watching the races on TV sets.

https://www.churchilldowns.com/ticke...ptions/#doc-54

While eating perhaps. But they do have a tiered terrace outside (hopefully it will not rain) that I'd move to after I ate.

If it's raining, then I can hope they either sit me by a window, or I move to a table with window view when some of the seniors leave after lunch.

But maybe it's a covered terrace they have outside? In that case I'd go out there unless we have 30 mph winds blowing rain sideways. I can't seem to find any pics of the terrace at Millionaire's Row anywhere online.

[metro]

Friends and I went to CD last fall and had tickets to one of the rooms similar to Millionaires Row. Lunch was buffet style with pork roast and chicken wings (of all things) as the meat entrées. Supporting dishes were very good....caesar type salad, pasta dishes, roasted potatoes, green beans, etc. Plenty of desert options as well.

All things considered $26 seems like a fair price.

fwiw seniors can get an admission ticket for $5 at CD and racing programs are free, or they were last year anyway.

[BettinBilly]

Originally Posted by metro

Friends and I went to CD last fall and had tickets to one of the rooms similar to Millionaires Row. Lunch was buffet style with pork roast and chicken wings (of all things) as the meat entrées. Supporting dishes were very good....caesar type salad, pasta dishes, roasted potatoes, green beans, etc. Plenty of desert options as well.

All things considered $26 seems like a fair price.

fwiw seniors can get an admission ticket for $5 at CD and racing programs are free, or they were last year anyway.

Thanks, Metro. Good info. I think it's more than a fair price. I have purchased the tickets, so it's a done deal, I'm going. And I'm looking forward to it. It's been quite a while since I attended any sort of "Special Function" at the track.

[bofkentucky]

https://www.churchilldowns.com/tickets/seating-options/ to get a look at the dining areas (and a sample menu, the pork shoulder is pretty good)

For millionaires row, there are outside viewing areas or you can watch on the tv's from inside.

[BettinBilly]

SWMBO and I attended yesterday. It was actually wonderful.

Great buffet, incredible selection, food out from noon until 2:30 PM. Live racing starting at 12:40. We got lucky and sat right next to the glass wall overlooking the track. For $27 per person, this was an incredible afternoon of racing. Plenty of cashier's or ticket machines. Easy going crowd as everyone was 60 and over. Easy to get from our table to the outdoor grandstand basically elevated, but at the finish line.

Just two things that really were not great;

1.) I rented a LIMO to take us from the hotel to Churchill so we could be dropped off and picked up at the door. Why not? Over 850 people were in Millionaire's Row, so this was (in theory) a good idea. HOWEVER, the parking police would not allow our limo any special privlidges. We were directed to VERY remote parking and told that we'd have to take a shuttle to the front gates after our driver parked the limo. Nonsense. Our driver put on his 4-ways and let us out right by the gate, and the parking attendents lost their minds. They were literally screaming at our limo driver to move it immediately, and told us (after we exited the vehicle) that this was NOT allowed and would not be tolerated in the future. I am probably going to write Churchill about this. IMO, it's nonsense. Every freaking venue like this in the US has a Limo drop off and pick up area. You don't spend hundreds on a Limo and then expect to have to park in remote parking.

2.) First race, many scratches, very few horses left. And unfortunately, one of the horses that did run broke a leg on the stretch run close to the finish line. It was of course not very pleasant to witness on the grandstand outside Millionaire's Row so close to the finish line. SWMBO was in tears because you could hear the horse screaming. They had to bring out the clean up van, put up the curtains and they euthanized the horse right there. Very sad for SWMBO whom is a horse lover to witness. Unfortunately this happens as we all know, it's just too bad it happened yesterday with SWMBO so close to the accident.