Background
A Louisville, Kentucky, businessman, Matt Winn had been a racing enthusiast since the day his father brought him to see the first running of the Kentucky Derby in 1875.
A Louisville, Kentucky, businessman, Matt Winn had been a racing enthusiast since the day his father brought him to see the first running of the Kentucky Derby in 1875.
In 1902, when the Churchill Downs racing facility was in serious financial trouble and in danger of closing, Winn formed a syndicate of local investors to take over the operation. A skilled marketer, in his first year running the racetrack, his renovations to the clubhouse and promotions for the event saw the business make its first-ever annual profit. A few years later, Winn changed the wagering from bookmaker betting to a Parimutuel betting system and in 1911 increased business substantially when he reduced the wager ticket from $5 to $2.
Matt Winn used his understanding of marketing to weave an aura of romance around the Kentucky Derby.
In 1915, he convinced the multimillionaire sportsman Harry Payne Whitney to ship his highly rated filly Regret from New Jersey to Louisville to compete in the Derby. Winn called Regret"s victory a turning point, and he worked to create an event of exotic grandeur that women soon flocked to, coming from both fashionable society and the ordinary working classes.
In 1937, Winn and the Derby made the cover of the May 10th issue of Time magazine. In 1944, Colonel Winn collaborated with Frank G. Menke to publish "Down The Stretch: The Story of Colonel
Matt J. Winn." He died a few years later in 1949 in Louisville.
The Matt Winn Stakes for three-year-olds held each May at Churchill Downs was named in his honor. He is buried in his family plot in Saint Louis Cemetery, 1215 Barret Avenue, Louisville Kentucky.