LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Churchill Downs topped off its re-envisioned paddock Wednesday by placing the final steel beam of the new structure.

The $200 million expansion will increase the capacity inside the paddock from 1,000 people to 2,400. The project is also expected to create more than 3,600 new premium reserved seats and more than 3,200 new standing room-only tickets, along with new club spaces.

John Hinshaw, the president of Calhoun Construction Services, the company behind the redesign, said this isn't the first time his company has had to navigate protecting history while adding modern touches to the racetrack, having also been contracted to redesign other aspects of Churchill Downs in the past. 

"On this one, the thing we wanted to preserve was the spires building," he said. "So when you go through there, actually you'll see more of the spires than you ever did before. You'll see more of the outside. On the inside, we've removed a lot of the old things, exposed the trusses. The brick has all been redone on the inside. And the clubs, you'll see a lot of the original masonry work as well."

Hinshaw said the redesign will "add a ton of excitement to the paddock" and when guests walk in, "all you will see is the paddock.

"The old paddock was cobbled together over years, a lot of additions and modifications and tweaks," he said. "It was honestly not a thought-out paddock. This is a thought-out paddock that gives the horses a true arena to walk in."

Glass underneath the paddock was also added so guests can see through the paddock roof.

"The paddock redesign will enhance the guest experience for every single person who walks through these gates in maybe one of our most transformative projects of all time," said Mike Anderson, president of Churchill Downs.

Churchill Downs Paddock 1938

Spectators gather around the Churchill Downs Paddock in 1938. (Image Courtesy Churchill Downs Racetrack)

It's the latest project in a series of renovations giving the track a modern touch. However, Kentucky Derby Museum Curator of Collections Jessica Whitehead said Churchill Downs has been no stranger to change over the years. 

"Churchill Downs has been changing since the beginning," she said. "The grandstand and clubhouse wasn't even on this side of the racetrack when the Louisville Jockey Club started back in 1874-75.

"There were four well-documented paddocks that were here in four different locations. This is just part of the continuum of being part of a historic site that also has to accommodate increasingly larger crowds."

Looking toward Derby 150 and the unveiling of the newly designed paddock, Whitehead said fans will get "breathtaking views people haven't gotten since the 1890s."

Aerial view of construction at Churchill Downs, September 13, 2023

Aerial view of construction at Churchill Downs, September 13, 2023. (Image by: Chad Kantlehner / WDRB)

Now that the steel is placed construction crews will shift to finishing the enclosure.

"It is always an extremely tight schedule at Churchill Downs," Hinshaw said. "You have to work around the race schedules and you have to hit your dates. So, it is going to be a tight finish, but we're right where we thought we'd be on schedule."

This week, a temporary paddock will be used when the September Meet begins Thursday, Sept. 14.

The newly designed paddock will be unveiled to the public for the first time opening night of Derby Week.

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