LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- For just the fifth time in Churchill Downs history, fans gathered at the track on Saturday for horse racing in August.
The Arlington Million was held at horse racing facility in Louisville for the first time, which also gave fans a glimpse at the major construction underway to transform the Paddock.
Churchill Downs was cleaned up for the one-day racing event, but the major construction happening was still hard to miss. An $185 million project will double the size of the Paddock as the existing space where the horses are saddled for races is being torn down.
"The old paddock, the video board, the tote board, that's been removed," Darren Rogers, Churchill Downs Senior Director of Communications, said.
This undated visual representation provided by Churchill Downs shows what the track's new paddock will look like when it's completed sometime in 2024, in time for Derby 150.Â
The project isn't expected to be finished until Kentucky Derby 150 in 2024. It will include two-story premium seating, video boards and the paddock stalls themselves will actually be flipped to the other side of the space to sit beneath the Twin Spires.
"After next year's Derby we're going to have to have a temporary Paddock for the 2023 Spring, September and Fall meets and that will probably be near the mile shoot," Rogers said. "That will be temporary because we'll be building up around the Paddock."
It's the latest major renovation project at Churchill Downs over the last decade.
In the last 10 years, the track has added permanent lighting, a massive 4K video board, revamped the entire second floor of the Clubhouse, added The Mansion, The Starting Gate Suites, the garden terrace and updated a parking lot.
Churchill Downs officials are calling the Paddock project the most transformational.
"When we announced the Paddock project, Steve Asmussen who is our all-time leading trainer in the sport and at Churchill Downs sent me a text message that said, 'Longchamp in France used to have the greatest Paddock in the world now you're going to have it,'" Rogers said.
The equipment and construction is expected for the better part of two years, but the final product is expected to be worth the wait.
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