SVDP Podcast with Churchill Downs Bill Mudd and Tonya Abeln (Episode 25)

Such a pleasure. Thank you.

Well, thank you. It feels very special to be here for that.

Well, I like to say that I've done Derby almost any way you can, so a variety of ways. I grew up watching with my dad, that's really how I fell in love with the Kentucky Derby. My favorite race that I remember watching as a kid was 1989, Sunday Silence and Easy Goer. I just love that rivalry, and that's the first year I remember wanting to watch the rest of the Triple Crown races and being really engaged with that. I attended the University of Louisville, so I went to the infield as a college student like many do. Eventually, I was named a Derby Princess, which was a huge honor and a lot of fun. Now I get the opportunity to work for Churchill Downs, which is truly my dream job. But probably my favorite Derby memory is a little bit unexpected. My senior year—no, I'm sorry, my junior year of college—I decided I was going to make money during the Derby instead of spending in the infield like I had the year before. So I trained to be a parimutuel teller. For Oaks and Derby, I was going to make $400. A lot of money, but at the time particularly, that was going to do me all summer probably. So at the end of Oaks day, my drawer was short significantly. This is why Bill Mudd doesn't let me near the money or the numbers at Churchill Downs. I guess I was just making it rain; I was just giving people too much money when they cashed in their tickets. So I was really nervous that I wasn't going to make any money because I was going to have to make up that difference. On Derby Day that year, a long shot won, Charismatic, and a man who'd been coming to my window all day considered me good luck. He tipped me out enough for me to make up the difference and still make some money. So that was a fun memory, just to be on that side of things and really learn the inside of the wagering process.

Well, clearly it was, because I did not do it correctly.

Well, that's what's the beautiful thing about this, right? You've got all three-year-old horses. They get one opportunity in their lifetime to be there. It is the longest continuously held sporting event in the United States. I've had the opportunity to go visit and attend a lot of sporting events just because of the nature of the role, the nature of the industry we're in, and we're always trying to learn from other events and bring those good things back to the Kentucky Derby. The Kentucky Derby is unlike anything else. It's absolutely my favorite, even though I'm working all day long, because you have the pageantry, you have the athleticism of the horses and the jockeys, you have women that are dressed to the nines and men that are wearing fedoras and bow ties, and everybody's betting on the same outcome. Not necessarily the same horse, but the $2 bettor is screaming just as hard as the $20,000 better. They still want the same horse to come across the finish line, and that's a unique sport in the sporting world. In my opinion, it's not overly corporate, right? Some other events become very corporate, so we try to keep it fresh and keep it new and keep the excitement going. And to your point, everybody there seems to be happy and having a good day.

Yeah, it's the best.

That is. You know, the lead-up to Derby, it is kind of like the lead-up to a really big holiday. It is a holiday. I think that's something that's changed a lot in the recent decades. As we talk about 150th legacy, the way that Derby week has built out new products. There was Oaks and Derby, now everyone wants to come to Thurby. We have Champions Day this year, 50 Tuesday. It's our second year for 50 Tuesday. The branding, but people are just as dressed up for Tuesday now as they are for Derby. And this year for 50 Tuesday, we're actually celebrating all of the organizations in Louisville that are 150 years old or older. So I know that you will be on that list for sure, one of few who have weathered that for so many years like us.

Absolutely. I'd be happy to. We really break it down in two ways. Churchill Downs Incorporated as a company has a long tradition of being, what we hope is, a responsible corporate neighbor, and that is both in the city of Louisville, our headquarters for 150 years, but in any of the communities in which we operate. Specifically in Louisville, we look at the Kentucky Derby as being a critical institution to not only the culture here but the economy. So as a company, we are really committed to supporting organizations who similarly support the unique culture of the city, improve the quality of life for the city. That can fall under a number—that's a large umbrella in terms of charitable strategy, so we're able to be really flexible with that and support organizations like your own who are doing good work, make our city a better place to live, work, and play, and visit for those who are coming to the Kentucky Derby. So that's our focus as a company. And then to your point, we also have Churchill Downs Foundation, which is separate, and not everybody needs to know which bucket of money things are coming from, but the foundation's mission is to be a good steward for this industry. So that's really giving back to what I call the unsung heroes of the Kentucky Derby and horse racing. That includes the equine athletes themselves. A lot of money goes to thoroughbred aftercare, so after that racing career is over. You think about all the foals each year, 20 make it into that gate. We want to make sure there's a sustainable lifestyle for horses on and off the track, so we really have a focus on thoroughbred aftercare, what happens to those horses after they retire. The jockeys themselves—the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund, unfortunately there is a need for that, and so we're supportive of that. The backside community is really important to us. Those people who make this event possible for all of us to enjoy are supported throughout the year. I think not everybody realizes that the folks in the backside aren't employed by Churchill Downs. We feel a great responsibility to make sure that they have a good quality of life, that they're getting the resources that they need. It's a very migratory community, but often times families are here in Louisville year-round, so there's a lot of support that's needed there. And then we include the neighbors of the racetrack in that as well.

It's going to be amazing. I mean, the accessibility to the paddock is just completely changed. It's going to take your breath away as soon as you walk into the gate. I mean, it's truly stunning. I'm someone who doesn't like change, but this is a magnificent structure and it will be really inspiring. We were involved from the beginning with the design, and even when I walk in I'm like, 'I can't believe we're building this. This is really amazing.' We've been talking about it for 15 years, and the growth of the company has allowed us to take a big, big risk like this. A risk in that it's a lot of capital, but to invest and to grow the event, it's less risky now than it would have been say 15 years ago.

It is very interesting. Kentucky Racetrack Chaplaincy, they're tremendous partners for us. As I mentioned, we don't employ the community in the backside, but there are things we can do to make sure that first of all their experience is great, and that as a migratory community, when the families are still left in Louisville they have resources and they have a sense of community and support there. The racetrack chaplaincy is one of the primary ways we do that. Of course, even if there is a language barrier sometimes, the communal language of faith brings people together. So that's really important to us. They do work at racetracks all across the state, but they have a big footprint with a chapel on the backside. They have Sunday services. It's non-denominational chaplaincy. It's Christian-based, yes, not specific denomination. Beyond that, they do gift-giving through the holidays, we do back-to-school supplies for the students. It's a recreational place for people to gather and spend time as well. In addition to the chaplaincy, there is a Backside Learning Center, and that's more education-focused, making sure that the families have the resources they need. That's one of three nonprofits that are really based on our backside that aren't operated by us but supported by us largely. It's incredibly important that those thrive.

So that's another community that we just want to make sure we're supporting through nutritional support, the mental health support they need because of all the demands that they're up against. They're really strong. They're an interesting bunch of athletes. Like any athlete, the demands are very large, but in particular, that's a tough one.

There are fundraising events all that. That's one of the great things about our platform is that it gives opportunity for people to host major fundraisers for their nonprofits. The Derby Museum will have 700 or 800 people there on the Saturday before Derby. It's the Friday night before, opening night. So there's the money we donate, and then there's the indirect opportunity that our platform gives way for things like that.

It's exciting. I mean, he's a Louisville guy, doesn't live here right now, but it's just to see the excitement building up for this. I'm always interested to hear from people even locally who are super into the Derby who don't understand or don't fully understand how horses qualify for the Derby in the Road to the Kentucky Derby and that whole process. So that's a key part of the education of horse racing that people are really interested in, because it doesn't naturally sort of fit into the context of how they celebrate the Derby. But that is really exciting. We have to keep an eye on that horse. That's a dream. I just want to wear that so hard. You get 20 horses, and there's 25,000 foals a year. You have one opportunity to get there. You have to run in races and qualify and get points in order to get in.

I think sometimes the detour is the more interesting way to travel. Certainly my path to what I now consider my dream job was not a straight line. I was actually speaking at a career panel the other day to a group of college students. I said, 'I see a lot now people looking at job descriptions and maybe seeing one or two bullet points that they don't love, and they think I'm not really interested in doing that.' I think what they're missing is those experiences ultimately can lead you to your dream job. I think it's important, just like with our bodies, to exercise different muscles in our brain. When I look back at some of those jobs that certainly weren't my dream jobs and were a way of just getting a check at the end of the week, I still call upon so many of those experiences now. They inform either the way I lead or the way I execute, in so many ways that I wouldn't have benefited from that knowledge if I'd just taken a more direct path to this role. So I would encourage people to of course keep your eye on the goal, but there's more than one way to get there, so really keep an open mind to that. This might not be very popular, but something I'm observing is I think the younger generation—I'm finally the Ager I can say that now—boundaries are really important to them, which I admire. I think what I'm observing is there is a fine line between maintaining your own personal boundaries but also fulfilling your obligations. I come from a generation where you get there earlier, you stay later, you do more than is expected. Boundaries weren't really part of the conversation then. So it's a balance now in respecting people's boundaries and how they can achieve balance in their life, but also proving yourself, working hard, and then getting someone's attention and then getting an opportunity and walking through that door and making the best of it.

It's hard to loosen your grip.

But I think flexibility, adaptability, those are two really important words for me. If I'm looking at a resume or I'm thinking about who to incorporate on a team, those are very—