20067718.xml

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<XML_File_ID>20067718</XML_File_ID>
<heading>BJN;AGRISS-COLUMN</heading>
<msg_id EventId="">4653477</msg_id>
<category>News</category>
<sport>HORSE</sport>
<url>/horse/news/BJN4653477.htm</url>
<SMS>Up the Backstretch: That's one big video screen</SMS>
<Editor>By Don Agriss, Horse Racing Editor</Editor>
<text>
 Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - It's big, really big. The new video
 board going up at Churchill Downs is so big that three of the five Christmas
 Day NBA games could be played on it at the same time.
</text>
<continue>
<P>
 Churchill Downs, home to the Kentucky Derby, is constructing the enormous
 video board on the backstretch of the historic track so that, apparently, the
 astronauts aboard the International Space Station can view the 140th Run for
 the Roses through a window or during a space walk.
</P>
<P>
 "We are thrilled to announce that the world's largest 4K video board will have
 a home at Churchill Downs and, the fact that it will have 4K resolution truly
 solidifies our claim to fame as being known as the best venue for thoroughbred
 racing in the world," said Kevin Flanery, president of Churchill Downs
 Racetrack. "We are eager to debut this new video board to fans and believe
 they will be truly excited about the clarity in which races will be
 broadcast."
</P>
<P>
 Now, I have no idea what 4K resolution actually means, but it probably has
 something to do with minimum pools for each of the exotic bets that Churchill
 Downs will be offering during the upcoming spring/summer meet that the
 Kentucky Derby highlights.
</P>
<P>
 "We are thrilled to have this opportunity to work with Churchill Downs to
 bring true 21st Century video technology to the 140th Kentucky Derby, the
 longest continuously conducted sporting event in the country," Richard
 Ballard, vice president of sales and marketing for Panasonic Eco Solutions
 North America, said back in October when the video board installation was
 first announced.
</P>
<P>
 As you can see, everybody involved with the new gizmo is thrilled the 171-foot-
 wide-by-90-foot-tall video board is being constructed in Louisville.
</P>
<P>
 It's thrilling just to write about the $12 million video board.
</P>
<P>
 The installation is expected to be completed by mid-March, more than a month
 before opening day at Churchill on Saturday, April 26. The screen will debut
 that evening offering a 170-degree viewing angle for anyone situated in the
 clubhouse and grandstand seats, and infield under the Twin Spires.
</P>
<P>
 "We're very pleased to have the opportunity to work with Churchill Downs and
 deliver a 15,224-square foot board to an icon of the sports world," said Jim
 Doyle, president of Panasonic Eco Solutions North America. "4K content is
 truly the wave of the future and we are excited to bring avid racing fans this
 technology that gives them the ability to view content on a big screen as if
 they were up close and personal with the racetrack."
</P>
<P>
 Now, will anybody actually watch the races at Churchill without looking at the
 video board? At many tracks, even as live racing goes on right in front of the
 grandstand, people have gotten into the habit of watching races on the
 televisions that are spread throughout the facilities.
</P>
<P>
 No really, congratulations to Churchill Downs on its new video board. May it
 offer many years of enjoyment to all and relieve the crowding in the paddock.
</P>
</continue>
<time_stamp> January 6, 2014, at 03:41 PM ET </time_stamp>
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