Churchill Downs Posts Record $980M Q2 Revenue, Buys Back Full Ownership of United Tote

Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ: CHDN) has reported the strongest quarter in its history, driven almost entirely by a record 152nd Kentucky Derby and continued growth across its regional gaming portfolio. The company also announced a separate transaction to reverse a two-year-old sale, buying back the 49 percent of United Tote Company it sold to the New York Racing Association in 2024 and restoring full ownership of its pari-mutuel technology arm.

The headline numbers

For the quarter ending June 30, 2026, CDI reported:

Metric	Q2 2026	YoY Change
Net revenue	$980M	+5% (+$46M)
Net income attributable to CDI	$241M	+11% (+$24M)
Adjusted EBITDA	$477M	+6% (+$26M)

All three are all-time quarterly records for the company. Adjusted EBITDA growth outpacing revenue growth points to continued operating leverage in the racing and gaming segments — the Derby generates the highest-margin revenue of any single event on the CDI calendar, and the Q2 window captures it entirely.

Derby Week did the heavy lifting

The single most important line in the release for anyone tracking Kentucky racing is CDI’s confirmation that Derby Week produced an all-time record contribution to adjusted EBITDA. Two data points from the broadcast side quantify how much larger the audience got:

• Peak viewership: 24.4 million — up 12 percent year-over-year.
• Highest average viewership: 19.6 million — up 11 percent year-over-year.

Those are the strongest Derby viewership numbers of the streaming era. Some of that uplift was almost certainly narrative-driven: Golden Tempo’s 23-1 come-from-behind win under Jose Ortiz was the second-largest closing-from-last-place upset in the past decade, and trainer Cherie DeVaux made history as the first woman ever to saddle a Derby winner. Broadcast audiences reliably respond to that kind of storyline in horse racing more than in any other US sport.

For CDI, the audience translates directly to handle, sponsorship yield, and premium seating revenue in the following year’s Derby. The 153rd Derby (May 1, 2027) has already begun pre-sales at higher price points than the 152nd, according to the company’s guidance section — a direct read on how the operator is valuing the momentum.

The United Tote deal, reversed

The more strategically interesting piece of the release is the United Tote transaction. CDI announced a definitive agreement to buy back the 49 percent of United Tote it sold to NYRA in 2024, restoring 100 percent ownership.

Recall the 2024 transaction: CDI sold nearly half of United Tote — its pari-mutuel wagering technology arm — to NYRA in exchange for NYRA agreeing to route its own tote and pari-mutuel systems business through United Tote. It was framed at the time as a mutual-benefit alignment: NYRA locked in preferred pricing, CDI locked in a large recurring customer.

Two years later, CDI is buying the shares back. The stated reason in the release:

The acquisition supports our long-term strategy to own and vertically integrate key technologies and services related to pari-mutuel wagering and horse racing, while strengthening the company’s position as a leading B2B distributor of horse racing content and provider of racing services.

Translation: with fixed-odds horse racing now legalized in Kentucky under HB 904 and rolling out at the state’s tracks over the next 12 months, the tote infrastructure becomes materially more valuable. CDI likely wants full control of the technology roadmap heading into that transition — and possibly wants to license the same stack into other US states as fixed-odds horse racing expands. Selling 49 percent of the strategic asset to a competitor-adjacent operator (NYRA runs Belmont Park, Saratoga, and Aqueduct) looked like a good deal in 2024’s business context. In 2026’s, with the fixed-odds shift accelerating, the calculus has changed.

The financial terms of the buyback were not disclosed. Given United Tote’s 2024 valuation and the strategic re-rating implied by the fixed-odds legalization wave, it is likely CDI paid a meaningful premium to unwind the position.

What this means for Kentucky bettors

Three practical implications for Kentucky pari-mutuel and sports bettors:

1. TwinSpires infrastructure investment continues. CDI owns TwinSpires — the largest pari-mutuel platform used by Kentucky bettors — and full ownership of United Tote consolidates the underlying technology stack. Expect continued reliability and feature investment in TwinSpires through 2027 as CDI pushes fixed-odds product to market alongside traditional pari-mutuel pools.

2. Fixed-odds horse racing rollout accelerating. HB 904’s fixed-odds authorization is one of the biggest structural changes to Kentucky racing in a generation. CDI reclaiming full technology ownership signals the operator plans to be at the front of the rollout — likely offering fixed-odds pricing on its own racing content ahead of competitors.

3. Derby premium seating and hospitality pricing rising. Record 2026 Derby viewership and revenue means 2027 Derby ticket and hospitality pricing goes up. Kentucky residents who want to attend the 153rd Derby in person (May 1, 2027) should expect meaningful year-over-year price increases in both general admission and premium categories.

Related coverage

• Full Kentucky Derby 2026 recap including Golden Tempo’s finish, payouts, and Cherie DeVaux’s historic training win.
• Our Kentucky horse racing overview covering all nine licensed tracks, pari-mutuel vs fixed-odds mechanics, and online wagering platforms.
• Kentucky HB 904 explainer — the same legislation that raised the sports betting age to 21+ also authorized fixed-odds horse racing statewide.

This article is based on Churchill Downs Incorporated’s July 30, 2026 quarterly earnings release. BettingInKentucky is not affiliated with CDI, NYRA, or any operator mentioned. We are an independent editorial site covering Kentucky sports betting and racing.