More than half of that revenue comes from high-end ticket sales, Bloomberg reports, and is helpfully pumped by this bit of 1-percent baiting at the Louisville racetrack:
Three years ago, the company opened the Mansion, an area with its own entrance, chefs, and 322 seats that average $10,000 each on Derby day. [Bloomberg]
Beyond ticket sales to 160,000-plus fans, Churchill Downs Inc., which owns several racetracks and casinos, scores about a quarter of its $83 million Kentucky Derby cash haul from TV rights and sponsorships, 16 percent from gambling, and 4 percent from selling food and drink. (That includes 120,000 race-day mint juleps.)
The Kentucky Derby will be broadcast by NBC at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday. Read more about the economics of the race over at Bloomberg.