Churchill Downs: Driving scalable growth from the starting gate to the finish line and beyond the track
Churchill Downs brings it with SAP GROW
It takes more than tradition to power The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports®. The SAP GROW offering gives Churchill Downs Incorporated the AI-assisted cloud ERP it needs to help streamline spend, scale operations, and fuel innovation across properties so the business can run as swiftly as the horses.
| Industry | Region | Company Size |
| Media, sports, and entertainment | Louisville, Kentucky | 10,000 employees |
reduction in supply chain base, leading to a more reliable value chain.
growth in recent years across gaming, racing, and hospitality.
unified foundation connecting HR, finance, and procurement.
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Churchill Downs Incorporated
| Industry | Region | Company Size |
| Media, sports, and entertainment | Louisville, Kentucky | 10,000 employees |
reduction in supply chain base, leading to a more reliable value chain.
growth in recent years across gaming, racing, and hospitality.
unified foundation connecting HR, finance, and procurement.
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Churchill Downs Incorporated
Confronting the limitations of disconnected systems and processes
For more than 150 years, Churchill Downs Incorporated (CDI) has been famously known as the home of the Kentucky Derby. From greenhouse materials and florals to racetrack signage, fencing, buses, tents, flooring, staffing, and hospitality elements, thousands of procurement decisions shape Derby Week. And behind the starting gate is a year-round operation that spans racetracks, regional gaming properties, historical horse racing venues, online wagering, and hospitality businesses across the United States.
As CDI’s operations rapidly expanded across multiple properties and business lines—nearly tripling in size in recent years—its technology landscape struggled to keep pace. This growth brought both exciting opportunities and complex challenges, especially in finance, spend, and human capital management. Customized systems, manual processes, and siloed data created inefficiencies and made it difficult to scale consistently across newly acquired and legacy properties.
Month-end close required coordination across several sites, with the chief accounting officer having to talk to up to seven different finance leaders at different sites to close the books every month. Relying on separate systems and manual processes to consolidate results was not sustainable.
Vice President, Project Management Office, Churchill Downs Incorporated
Gaining financial control across a growing enterprise
To address the challenges it was facing, CDI chose the SAP GROW offering and other SAP solutions to help establish a unified cloud ERP foundation and support standardization and growth across the enterprise.
With SAP S/4HANA Cloud Public Edition, CDI was able to centralize its financial operations on modern cloud ERP. Finance teams now operate with standardized processes and real-time access to financial performance across the organization. And cash flow, spend, and forecasting data are now more consistent and reliable, improving reporting accuracy and enabling faster, more confident decision-making.
CDI also implemented SAP Ariba solutions and SAP Business Network to help bring greater structure and visibility and unify fragmented procurement processes across the enterprise. The organization now has 360-degree visibility into vendor and category spend, strengthening oversight and control.
In addition, CDI implemented SAP SuccessFactors solutions to help modernize recruiting, onboarding, payroll, and performance management on a unified, cloud-based HR foundation. Managers gain improved visibility into workforce planning, helping ensure teams are prepared for major events and daily operations alike.
Senior Director, Organizational Change Management, Churchill Downs Incorporated
Unifying spend management without compromising its legacy touch
Carrying out the Kentucky Derby requires year-round planning and precise coordination. With SAP software, CDI has been able to reduce its active vendor base by 40%—from 5,000 to 3,000 suppliers—improving accountability, supplier performance, and cost control. Real-time insight into spend enables teams to identify savings opportunities, improve forecasting, and better manage cash flow across properties.
And this transformation has extended beyond technology. Moving to a leading procurement platform required hands-on training, open communication, and road shows to help ensure adoption across the workforce. By aligning people, processes, and systems, CDI has embedded a more consistent, data-driven approach to sourcing and supplier management.
This shift in vendor engagement has strengthened the company’s supply chain and freed up resources for crucial investments in technology and capital projects. In addition, real-time data insights across spend categories have empowered employees to make data-driven, more-efficient decisions, enabling them to adapt quickly in an ever-changing environment.
Vice President, Sourcing, Churchill Downs Incorporated
Creating a faster, more competitive track for future growth
With the SAP GROW offering, CDI has established a stable foundation to support continued growth and operational consistency across its expanding portfolio. With support from SAP, CDI was able to complete its transition to the cloud with confidence. Ahead of the 152nd Kentucky Derby, the SAP Mission Control Center team has continued to work behind the scenes to help ensure smooth operations at Churchill Downs through its AI-supported preventive approach.
While rapid response remains an important capability, the team is using predictive technologies to identify, prioritize, and mitigate customer risks before they can create business disruption. By combining intelligent automation and AI-enhanced insights with deep human expertise, SAP Mission Control Center is proactively helping safeguard high-profile events such as the Kentucky Derby—helping ensure they run smoothly, securely, and without interruption.
Looking ahead, AI and advanced analytics will play a growing role in how CDI operates, helping teams move faster from data to decision and further enhancing both efficiency and guest experiences.
Connecting procurement, finance, and HR with AI-assisted cloud ERP allows the company to meet its growth goals while staying true to its legacy of excellence.
Want to know more about the Churchill Downs journey?
How the Kentucky Derby Runs Faster with SAP (Video)
The Kentucky Derby Harnesses SAP Technology to Seize Every Winning Opportunity (Video)
Beyond the Racetrack: How Churchill Downs Transforms Spend Management with SAP (Video)
Churchill Downs Makes Play for Growth with Cloud Solutions from SAP (SAP News Center Article)