The venue of the annual Kentucky Derby, the Churchill Downs is a National Historic Landmark in Louisville, Kentucky. It is a racetrack that opened in 1875, and has mostly served as such since.

Ranked fifth in a rating survey did by the Horseplayers Association of North America, the Churchill Downs is actually connected with a good number of historical figures. It was built by Colonel Merriweather Lewis Clark, Jr., the grandson of the Lewis and Clark Expedition’s William Clark. He named it after his uncles, John and Henry Churchill, who both came from one of the first and most prominent families in the state.

The Churchill Downs regularly seats 50,000, but the number can go up to 150,000 during the Kentucky Derby. It also features the Kentucky Derby Museum and Derby Cafe.