This letter to the editor in the CJ is totally correct. But that doesn’t make it morally right:

Churchill Downs is a for-profit corporation. Their No. 1 priority is to shareholders. Not to local restaurants.

Their stock shares have performed amazingly well. So, they are providing a fantastic rate of return to shareholders.

Note that CDI (Churchill Downs Inc.) does NOT sponsor ANY Louisville events. Not Thunder Over Louisville or any community activities. Much less a hospital wing or humanitarian effort to benefit the citizens.

All one needs to do is visit Keeneland Race Course to see the difference. Keeneland is a nonprofit venue. It is not a publicly held stock company. The ambiance and demeaner of the track, the employees and the service is night and day opposite of Churchill.

So, Louisville restaurants, stop whining about a company improving their profit and revenue stream. 

That’s the job of the president, CEO and board of directors who never gave a thought to local restaurants when moving the race to 8 p.m.

The function of a corporation is to make money for its investors. Note that the writer goes out of his way to note that CDI doesn’t sponsor anything that improves the quality of life in the community.

Meanwhile, Marketbeat notes that:

According to the 11 analysts’ twelve-month price targets for Churchill Downs, the average price target is $138.18. The highest price target for CHDN is $158.00, while the lowest price target for CHDN is $116.00. The average price target represents a forecasted upside of 29.88% from the current price of $106.39.

The reality is that corporations don’t give a damn about the collateral damage they do, as long as they keep making profits and returning dividends to shareholders. (As well as nice stock options and bonuses for its executives.)

That’s the basic flaw of capitalism. More money for a few investors. Less money for everyone else.

Which is why this letter to the editor is also correct:

Churchill has left the little man out! The little man who can’t afford the Derby any longer!

The Derby used to incorporate all lives. The vendors on the neighborhood streets, the infield patrons and those who could afford to save and maybe attend in a box seat. Not anymore! It has become commercialized for the rich and companies. They have forgotten how moving it to prime time will affect the restaurants.

It used to be the little guy is what made the Derby. The $2 bettor who hoped of hitting a long shot, the surrounding homes selling hot dogs and apparel and the wild and crazy infield! The greed of Churchill has ruined it for the little guy, and what’s worse is I don’t think they care!

That’s right. They don’t care. I’ve been to the Kentucky Derby twice and paid what I considered an exorbitant amount for a box of six seats, but I also saw American Pharoah win the first leg of the Triple Crown. The last time I considered buying tickets, a couple of years ago, the box seat price had more than doubled. It just wasn’t worth it. (Add to that the fact that the last time I went, the people in the box next to me had gotten drunk and threw up for the entirety of the actual Derby race.)

Look at the stock performance. What they’re doing is working for them.

Churchill Downs became successful because of community support. Now that it’s a success, it doesn’t need the community anymore.