Churchill Downs Board Signs Off on $750 Million Share Buyback Plan

Churchill Downs Incorporated announced on October 28, 2026 that its Board of Directors approved a $750 million share repurchase program, replacing the $500 million program the Louisville, Kentucky-based company authorized in July 2025. The board approved the new authorization on October 27, 2026, and the company’s third-quarter results release identifies it as the October 2026 Stock Repurchase Program.

The new authorization includes, and is not in addition to, the $306 million remaining under the prior authorization as of the close of trading on October 27, 2026. Share repurchases may be made at management’s discretion from time to time in the open market, either with or without a 10b5-1 plan, or through privately negotiated transactions. The repurchase program has no time limit and may be suspended or discontinued at any time.

Prior Repurchase Authorizations

The company repurchased 570,169 shares of its common stock at a total cost of $48 million in the third quarter of 2026, an amount the company described as capital returned to shareholders through share repurchases during the quarter. It reported approximately $382 million of repurchase authority remaining under the July 2025 Stock Repurchase Program as of September 30, 2026, and $306 million remaining as of the close of trading on October 27, 2026, the balance included in the new $750 million authorization.

The July 2025 program now being replaced was itself announced on July 23, 2025 as a $500 million authorization that replaced a $500 million program authorized in March 2025. Under that program, repurchases could be made at management’s discretion in the open market, with or without a 10b5-1 plan, or through privately negotiated transactions, with no time limit. Earlier, on September 29, 2021, the company announced a $500 million repurchase program that replaced a $300 million program authorized in October 2018, which had unused authorization of $97.9 million as of September 29, 2021.

Third-Quarter Results

The new program was approved alongside the company’s results for the quarter ended September 30, 2026. The company reported record net revenue of $696 million, up $13 million or 2% from the prior-year quarter, record net income attributable to CDI of $80 million, up $42 million, and record Adjusted EBITDA of $264 million, up $2 million or 1%. Excluding a one-time, non-cash impairment and an insurance recovery recorded in the prior-year quarter, the company said net income attributable to CDI was up $10 million, or 26%.

By segment, the company reported third-quarter revenue of $315 million and Adjusted EBITDA of $111 million in Live and Historical Racing, revenue of $126 million and Adjusted EBITDA of $48 million in Wagering Services and Solutions, and revenue of $273 million and Adjusted EBITDA of $128 million in Gaming. The company ended the third quarter of 2026 with net bank leverage of 3.8x, according to the results release.

Dividend and Recent Financing Actions

On October 27, 2026, the board declared an annual cash dividend of $0.469 per outstanding share of common stock, a seven percent increase over the prior year, payable on January 5, 2027 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on December 4, 2026, with the aggregate cash dividend paid to each shareholder rounded to the nearest whole cent. The company said this will be the sixteenth consecutive year it has increased its dividend per share.

On September 25, 2026, the company closed the eighth amendment to its senior secured credit facility, extending the maturity of its revolving credit facility and Term Loan A from July 2029 to September 2031 and eliminating a previously applicable 10-basis-point credit spread adjustment. The company also entered into a $500 million Term Loan B maturing September 25, 2033, issued at 99.875% of the principal amount and bearing interest at SOFR plus 175 basis points. The company said it used a portion of the net proceeds to repay borrowings outstanding under its 2028 Term Loan B and its revolving credit facility, to fund related transaction fees and expenses, and for working capital and other general corporate purposes. On October 19, 2026, the company redeemed its 2027 Senior Notes with borrowings from the revolving credit facility.

On August 3, 2026, the company closed its previously announced acquisition of 49% of United Tote Company from NYRA Content Management Solutions, LLC, a subsidiary of the New York Racing Association. Concurrent with the transaction, the New York Racing Association agreed to extend its tote services agreement with United Tote through 2035.

The company scheduled a conference call on the third-quarter results for October 29, 2026 at 9 a.m. ET, with a live webcast available through its investor-relations events page and an online replay to be available by noon ET the same day.