Churchill Downs Inc (CHDN) 2023 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good day, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Churchill Downs Inc. 2023 Second Quarter Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference call is being recorded. I would now like to introduce your host for today's conference, Mr. Phil Forbis, Vice President, Financial Planning and Analysis.

女士們、先生們，美好的一天，歡迎參加 Churchill Downs Inc. 2023 年第二季度收益電話會議。 （操作員說明）謹此提醒，本次電話會議正在錄音。現在我想介紹一下今天會議的主持人，財務規劃與分析副總裁 Phil Forbis 先生。

Thank you, Andrew. Good morning, and welcome to our second quarter 2023 earnings conference call. After the company's prepared remarks, we will open the call for your questions. The company's 2023 second quarter business results were released yesterday afternoon. A copy of this release announcing results and other financial and statistical information about the period to be presented in this conference call, including information required by Regulation G, is available at the section of the company's website titled, News, located at churchilldownsincorporated.com as well as in the website's Investors section.

謝謝你，安德魯。早上好，歡迎參加我們的 2023 年第二季度收益電話會議。在公司準備好發言後，我們將開始電話詢問您的問題。該公司昨天下午發布了2023年第二季度經營業績。本新聞稿的副本公佈了本次電話會議期間公佈的結果和其他財務和統計信息，包括 G 條例要求的信息，可在公司網站標題為“新聞”的部分獲取，網址為：churchilldownsincorporated.com以及網站的投資者部分。

Before we get started, I would like to remind you that some of the statements that we make today may include forward-looking statements. These statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. All forward-looking statements should be considered in conjunction with the cautionary statements in our earnings release and the risk factors included in our filings with the SEC, specifically the most recent reports on Form 10-Q and Form 10-K.

在我們開始之前，我想提醒您，我們今天發表的一些聲明可能包含前瞻性聲明。這些陳述涉及許多風險和不確定性，可能導致實際結果存在重大差異。所有前瞻性陳述均應與我們的收益發布中的警示性陳述以及我們向 SEC 提交的文件中包含的風險因素（特別是 10-Q 表格和 10-K 表格的最新報告）一起考慮。

Any forward-looking statements that we make are based on assumptions as of today, and we undertake no obligation to update these statements as a result of new information or future events.

我們做出的任何前瞻性陳述均基於截至目前的假設，我們不承擔因新信息或未來事件而更新這些陳述的義務。

During this call, we will present both GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures. A reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP measures is included in yesterday's earnings press release. The press release and Form 10-Q are available on our website at churchilldownsincorporated.com.

在本次電話會議中，我們將介紹 GAAP 和非 GAAP 財務指標。昨天的收益新聞稿中包含了公認會計原則與非公認會計原則衡量標準的調節。新聞稿和 10-Q 表格可在我們的網站 Churchilldownsincorporated.com 上獲取。

And now I'll turn the call over to our Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Bill Carstanjen.

現在我將把電話轉給我們的首席執行官 Bill Carstanjen 先生。

Thanks, Phil. Good morning, everyone. With me today are several members of our team, including Bill Mudd, our President and Chief Operating Officer; Marcia Dall, our Chief Financial Officer; and Brad Blackwell, our General Counsel.

謝謝，菲爾。大家，早安。今天與我在一起的有我們團隊的幾位成員，包括我們的總裁兼首席運營官 Bill Mudd； Marcia Dall，我們的首席財務官；和我們的總法律顧問布拉德·布萊克威爾（Brad Blackwell）。

I will share some high-level thoughts on several strategic topics, and then Marcia will provide insight on our financial results as well as an update on our capital management strategy. After she finishes, we will take your questions.

我將分享一些關於幾個戰略主題的高層想法，然後瑪西婭將提供有關我們財務業績的見解以及我們資本管理戰略的最新信息。她講完後，我們將回答您的問題。

We delivered all-time record net revenues of $769 million and all-time record adjusted EBITDA of $364 million in the second quarter of this year. We were very pleased with the results for this year's 149th Kentucky Derby, a crowd of over 150,000 fans watched Mage at 15 to one odds pull off an incredible victory.

今年第二季度，我們的淨收入創歷史新高，達 7.69 億美元，調整後 EBITDA 達創紀錄，達 3.64 億美元。我們對今年第 149 屆肯塔基德比賽的結果感到非常滿意，超過 150,000 名球迷觀看了 Mage 以 15 比 1 的賠率取得了令人難以置信的勝利。

Strong growth in ticketing and sponsorship revenue, coupled with record wagering generated a sizable increase in adjusted EBITDA, setting a new all-time record for Derby Week. We were thrilled to debut on time and on budget our new first turn experience, which provided one-of-a-kind premium accommodations with exclusive views of the horses and the racetrack from the rail of the historic first turn.

票務和讚助收入的強勁增長，加上創紀錄的投注額，導致調整後 EBITDA 大幅增長，創造了德比周的新紀錄。我們很高興能夠按時、在預算內首次亮相我們的全新首轉體驗，它提供了獨一無二的優質住宿，從歷史性首轉的鐵軌上可以欣賞到馬匹和賽道的獨特景色。

Our carefully planned and executed capital projects at Churchill Downs Racetrack over the last several years have delivered a solid foundation for ongoing growth in the coming years. We have kicked off our year-long preparation for the 150th Kentucky Derby next year. We launched ticket sales in several areas in late May and as of June 30, have already executed contracts for approximately 37% of our planned ticket revenue for next year's Derby, which is significantly ahead of the pace for any previous year.

過去幾年，我們在丘吉爾唐斯賽馬場精心規劃和執行的資本項目為未來幾年的持續增長奠定了堅實的基礎。我們已經開始為明年第 150 屆肯塔基德比賽進行為期一年的準備工作。我們於 5 月下旬在多個地區啟動了門票銷售，截至 6 月 30 日，我們已經簽署了明年德比計劃門票收入的約 37% 的合同，這大大領先於往年的步伐。

We continue to make excellent progress on the Paddock Project, which is a formative undertaking for our facility. This project has many facets to it. We are adding additional reserve premium seating that will provide a wide variety of new seating and dinning experiences for our guests. When this project is done, everyone who enters our racetrack will be treated to spectacular views of the TwinSpires and the Paddock which we believe will provide a central -- a venue that unites to everyone who will visit.

我們繼續在圍場項目上取得出色進展，這是我們工廠的一項形成性事業。這個項目有很多方面。我們正在增加額外的預留高級座位，這將為我們的客人提供各種新的座位和用餐體驗。當這個項目完成後，每個進入我們賽道的人都將欣賞到 TwinSpires 和圍場的壯麗景色，我們相信這將提供一個中心——一個將所有參觀者團結在一起的場所。

We announced yesterday that we will be investing approximately $15 million to significantly improve the guest experience in our Jockey Club Suites area overlooking the home stretch of Churchill Downs Racetrack. We have 61 suites in our Jockey Club tower and host approximately 2,500 ticketed customers across the suites, dining areas and terraces. We expect to have the improvements in this area completed in time for the 150th Derby.

我們昨天宣布，我們將投資約 1500 萬美元，顯著改善賽馬俱樂部套房區域的賓客體驗，該區域俯瞰著丘吉爾唐斯賽馬場的主場。我們的賽馬會大樓設有 61 間套房，套房、用餐區和露台可容納約 2,500 名持票顧客。我們希望在第 150 屆德比賽前及時完成這方面的改進。

We are already planning our next series of development projects for Churchill Downs Racetrack. There are many more opportunities to build out our facility to provide innovative and extraordinary, once-in-a-lifetime experiences for new and existing guests. We hope to launch the next phase of our multiyear development plan immediately after the 150th Derby. Our commitment to investing in our flagship asset reflects our belief and our ability to generate consistent adjusted EBITDA growth with nominal levels of risk for years to come.

我們已經在規劃丘吉爾唐斯賽馬場的下一系列開發項目。我們還有更多的機會來建設我們的設施，為新老客人提供創新、非凡、千載難逢的體驗。我們希望在第 150 屆德比之後立即啟動下一階段的多年發展計劃。我們對投資旗艦資產的承諾反映了我們在未來幾年以名義風險水平實現持續調整後 EBITDA 增長的信念和能力。

Finally, we will also be adding a new sports bar in our existing simulcast area at Churchill Downs Racetrack in time for the launch of retail sports betting in Kentucky on September 7 of this year.

最後，我們還將在今年 9 月 7 日在肯塔基州推出零售體育博彩之前，在丘吉爾唐斯賽馬場現有的聯播區域添加一個新的體育酒吧。

Turning to our HRM entertainment venues. We were pleased to open a new hotel and steak house at Derby City Gaming in Louisville in early June. This, coupled with the gaming floor expansion and the addition of the new sports bar earlier in the year provides a suite of additional amenities for our guests to enjoy. While it is still early, we are exceeding revenue and profitability projections in the first month since opening. We are on track to open Derby City Gaming Downtown, our sixth Kentucky HRM entertainment venue in the fourth quarter of 2023. This venue is located in the heart of downtown Louisville across the street from the convention center.

轉向我們的人力資源管理娛樂場所。我們很高興於六月初在路易斯維爾的 Derby City Gaming 開設了一家新酒店和牛排館。再加上今年早些時候遊戲廳的擴建和新運動酒吧的增加，為我們的客人提供了一套額外的便利設施。雖然現在還為時過早，但我們開業後第一個月的收入和盈利能力就超出了預期。我們有望於 2023 年第四季度開設德比城博彩中心 (Derby City Gaming Downtown)，這是我們在肯塔基州的第六家 HRM 娛樂場所。該場所位於路易斯維爾市中心，與會議中心隔街相望。

We announced that our seventh HRM facility will be just outside and to the east of Owensboro, Kentucky. We have identified a greenfield site and believe that this location will enable us to create a premier entertainment destination for all residents of the region. We are now focused on completing the permitting and site planning process. We will provide an update on the project timing and budget on our next earnings call.

我們宣布我們的第七個人力資源管理設施將位於肯塔基州歐文斯伯勒以東的外圍。我們已經確定了一個綠地，並相信該地點將使我們能夠為該地區所有居民創造一個一流的娛樂目的地。我們現在的重點是完成許可和場地規劃流程。我們將在下次財報電話會議上提供有關項目時間和預算的最新信息。

HRM entertainment venues across Kentucky will benefit from the passage of legislation banning gray games, which became effective on June 30. Gray games are essentially slot machines. However, they are unregulated and do not pay state or low taxes and do not follow responsible gaming protocols, including restrictions regarding minors, anti-money laundering policies and procedures, and a host of other federal and state laws designed to protect consumers and the community. With the ban only taking effect at the very end of last month, it is still unclear how much of an impact it will have on our HRM venues in Kentucky. We certainly believe that it will have a positive effect and will be a benefit to the Commonwealth of Kentucky, its citizens, and the horse industry as well.

肯塔基州各地的 HRM 娛樂場所將受益於禁止灰色遊戲的立法的通過，該立法於 6 月 30 日生效。灰色遊戲本質上是老虎機。然而，它們不受監管，不繳納州稅或低稅，也不遵守負責任的博彩協議，包括對未成年人的限制、反洗錢政策和程序，以及旨在保護消費者和社區的許多其他聯邦和州法律。由於該禁令於上月底才生效，目前尚不清楚它將對我們位於肯塔基州的人力資源管理場所產生多大影響。我們當然相信這將產生積極的影響，並將有利於肯塔基州、其公民以及馬業。

Our Kentucky HRM venues will also benefit from the legalization of retail and online sports betting. We plan to have live retail sports books in our HRM venues on September 7 in time for the football season. We will also have a sports bar with sports betting in our Derby City Gaming Downtown facility when the property opens in the fourth quarter.

我們的肯塔基州人力資源管理場所也將受益於零售和在線體育博彩的合法化。我們計劃於 9 月 7 日在足球賽季到來之前在我們的 HRM 場館提供現場零售體育書籍。當酒店於第四季度開業時，我們還將在德比城博彩市中心設施中開設一家提供體育博彩的體育酒吧。

Retail sports betting in our HRM venues will provide another incentive for new and existing customers to come to our properties. We also monetized a couple of the online sports betting licenses we have in Kentucky with B2B partners, including one with FanDuel.

我們的 HRM 場館中的零售體育博彩將為新老客戶來到我們的場所提供另一種激勵。我們還與 B2B 合作夥伴合作，將肯塔基州的一些在線體育博彩許可證貨幣化，其中包括 FanDuel 的合作夥伴。

Regarding our expansion in Virginia. Our Rosie's Emporia HRM venue will open later this quarter with 150 HRMs in the southern portion of the state, near the North Carolina border, right off Interstate 95. Our Dumfries HRM venue and hotel is being built in Northern Virginia, approximately 30 miles south of Washington, D.C., also directly off Interstate 95. This venue will open with 1,150 HRM machines in Phase 1, and we can go up to 1,800 total machines in Phase 2.

關於我們在弗吉尼亞州的擴張。我們的 Rosie's Emporia HRM 場地將於本季度晚些時候開放，在該州南部靠近北卡羅來納州邊境、95 號州際公路的地方設有 150 個 HRM。我們的 Dumfries HRM 場地和酒店正在弗吉尼亞州北部建造，位於弗吉尼亞州以南約 30 英里處。華盛頓特區，也直接位於 95 號州際公路旁。該場館將在第一階段開放 1,150 台 HRM 機器，在第二階段總共可容納 1,800 台機器。

The construction is ongoing, and we expect the first phase of the project, including the gaming facility to be opened in the second quarter of 2024. In June, we announced plans to run a pair of mutual referendum this November and Manassas Park, which is in Northern Virginia, where we hope to open a venue with 150 to 250 HRMs. The city has really welcomed us and we are excited to pursue this opportunity.

施工正在進行中，我們預計該項目的第一階段，包括將於 2024 年第二季度開放的遊戲設施。6 月，我們宣布計劃在今年 11 月和馬納薩斯公園進行一對相互公投，這是在弗吉尼亞州北部，我們希望在那裡開設一個可容納 150 至 250 名 HRM 的場所。這座城市非常歡迎我們，我們很高興能抓住這個機會。

Currently, we have 6 of our allotted 10 HRM facilities open. Emporia will be the seventh. Our large-scale Dumfries Project will replace our current temporary 150 unit facility and thus will not be additive to our total number of deployed licenses. Manassas Park would be our eighth license, giving us 2 more to deploy in addition to our ability to relocate any existing facility to another location.

目前，我們分配的 10 個人力資源管理設施中有 6 個開放。恩波里亞將是第七個。我們的大型鄧弗里斯項目將取代我們目前擁有 150 個單位的臨時設施，因此不會增加我們部署的許可證總數。馬納薩斯公園將是我們的第八個許可證，除了我們能夠將任何現有設施遷移到另一個位置之外，我們還可以再部署兩個許可證。

We also recently announced that the Richmond City Council approved our partnership with Urban One as the city's preferred casino operator. Over the last week, we obtained the required certificate of approval from the Virginia Lottery and the Circuit Court has granted our petition allowing the referendum. As a reminder, we have a 50-50 partnership with Urban One to build a class 3 casino, hotel and event center in the city of Richmond upon approval via citywide referendum. If and when we obtain the right to proceed, we plan to build it in phases. The first phase consists of the casino and parking facilities and the second phase will include the hotel and the event center. This phased approach will enable us to expedite opening the casino portion of the project and generate cash flow to offset the construction cost of the second phase. This is the most financially prudent approach and provides near-term tax revenues for the city of Richmond to fund a variety of their priorities.

我們最近還宣布，里士滿市議會批准我們與 Urban One 合作，成為該市首選的賭場運營商。上週，我們從弗吉尼亞州彩票公司獲得了所需的批准證書，巡迴法院也批准了我們允許公投的請願書。謹此提醒，我們與 Urban One 建立了 50-50 的合作夥伴關係，經全市全民公投批准後，將在里士滿市建造一座三級賭場、酒店和活動中心。如果我們獲得繼續施工的權利，我們計劃分階段建設。第一階段包括賭場和停車設施，第二階段將包括酒店和活動中心。這種分階段的方法將使我們能夠加快項目賭場部分的開放，並產生現金流來抵消第二階段的建設成本。這是財務上最審慎的方法，可為里士滿市提供近期稅收收入，以資助其各種優先事項。

We've also made significant progress on our Salem, New Hampshire HRM site plans, and we'll be able to share more details on those plans by the end of the third quarter. Although this has taken longer than we would have liked, we remain excited and committed to creating a unique HRM entertainment offering for the Salem area that will also draw guests from the suburbs of Boston.

我們還在新罕布什爾州塞勒姆 HRM 站點計劃方面取得了重大進展，我們將能夠在第三季度末分享這些計劃的更多細節。儘管這花費的時間比我們希望的要長，但我們仍然感到興奮並致力於為塞勒姆地區創造獨特的 HRM 娛樂產品，這也將吸引來自波士頓郊區的客人。

We anticipate closing the Exacta transaction no later than the end of the year and potentially sooner if the remaining closing conditions are more quickly achieved. Through our ownership of Exacta, our facilities in Virginia will be able to have a broader variety of games on their gaming floors, and we will be able to reduce the cost of providing and operating the machines. This will improve our top line and our margins for Virginia.

我們預計 Exacta 交易將在今年年底前完成，如果剩餘的成交條件能夠更快地實現，則可能會更早完成。通過我們對 Exacta 的所有權，我們在弗吉尼亞州的設施將能夠在其遊戲場上提供更廣泛的遊戲種類，並且我們將能夠降低提供和操作機器的成本。這將提高我們弗吉尼亞州的營收和利潤率。

We will also continue to improve the technology platform and to offer the Exacta system to third-party HRM operators. HRMs and HRM venues, are key strategic focus over the next 5 to 10 years for our company. These high-growth, high-margin investments provide an excellent return on capital and we will remain disciplined as we expand our existing footprint and product offerings.

我們還將繼續完善技術平台，向第三方HRM運營商提供Exacta系統。人力資源管理和人力資源管理場所是我們公司未來 5 到 10 年的關鍵戰略重點。這些高增長、高利潤的投資提供了卓越的資本回報，我們將在擴大現有業務和產品範圍時保持紀律。

Regarding our TwinSpires segment, we were pleased this quarter to see the beginning of the benefits from our B2B expansion strategy. Our TwinSpires and United Tote businesses are now receiving B2B fees related to providing and settling wagers on horseraces for FanDuel and DraftKings. Although we cannot comment on our B2B partners horseracing results, the Kentucky Derby was a great boost for both our TwinSpires horseracing platform, which saw record handle on new registrants and for our B2B partners. We expect to add additional B2B partners over the next 12 months. We are very optimistic that horseracing and our TwinSpires services can be expanded meaningfully to online sports wagering platforms to reach millions of customers and that we will continue to benefit from the growth in incremental fees related to our B2B services over the longer term.

關於我們的 TwinSpires 部門，我們很高興本季度看到我們的 B2B 擴張戰略開始受益。我們的 TwinSpires 和 United Tote 業務目前正在收取與為 FanDuel 和 DraftKings 提供和結算賽馬投注相關的 B2B 費用。儘管我們無法對 B2B 合作夥伴的賽馬結果發表評論，但肯塔基德比對我們的 TwinSpires 賽馬平台和我們的 B2B 合作夥伴來說都是一個巨大的推動，該平台的新註冊人數創下了紀錄。我們預計在未來 12 個月內增加更多 B2B 合作夥伴。我們非常樂觀地認為，賽馬和我們的 TwinSpires 服務可以有意義地擴展到在線體育博彩平台，以覆蓋數百萬客戶，並且從長遠來看，我們將繼續受益於與我們的 B2B 服務相關的增量費用的增長。

Our TwinSpires handle was impacted in the second quarter by the loss of 88 race days as well as over 600 races, many from top tracks, primarily related to the extensive wildfires in Canada. TwinSpires was also impacted by the move of the Churchill Downs race meet to Ellis Park in June. To many of our players, Churchill Downs Racetrack is the single most important track that draws them to our site on any given day. We expect some Canadian wildfire impact on our TwinSpires handle in the third quarter. However, we will return to racing to Churchill Downs racetrack for our September race meet.

第二季度，我們的 TwinSpires 業績受到了 88 個比賽日以及 600 多場比賽損失的影響，其中許多比賽來自頂級賽道，這主要與加拿大大範圍的野火有關。 TwinSpires 還受到 6 月份丘吉爾唐斯賽馬比賽移至埃利斯公園的影響。對於我們的許多玩家來說，丘吉爾唐斯賽馬場是每天吸引他們來到我們網站的最重要的賽道。我們預計加拿大野火將在第三季度對我們的 TwinSpires 手柄產生一些影響。不過，我們將回到丘吉爾唐斯賽馬場參加九月的比賽。

Regarding our Gaming segment. We delivered record second quarter revenue and adjusted EBITDA with the addition of the Iowa, New York properties from the P2E acquisition. We did see mild softness across some of our regional gaming properties, particularly in the first half of the quarter. Each regional market has different economic and competitive drivers that on a quarter-to-quarter basis can impact the performance of a property.

關於我們的遊戲部門。我們實現了創紀錄的第二季度收入，並通過 P2E 收購增加了愛荷華州和紐約州的資產，調整了 EBITDA。我們確實看到我們的一些區域博彩資產出現輕微疲軟，特別是在本季度上半季度。每個區域市場都有不同的經濟和競爭驅動因素，這些驅動因素會按季度影響房地產的業績。

Overall, despite the inflationary and economic pressures and increased interest rates over the past year, we remain highly confident in the performance of our regional gaming properties, which generate significant free cash flow. With respect to our Terra Haute Casino and Resort, construction is progressing well with the planned grand opening for the casino and hotel in the second quarter of 2024.

總體而言，儘管過去一年面臨通脹和經濟壓力以及利率上升，但我們對區域博彩物業的表現仍然充滿信心，這些物業產生了大量的自由現金流。我們的 Terra Haute 賭場和度假村的建設進展順利，賭場和酒店計劃於 2024 年第二季度盛大開業。

In summary, second quarter was another great quarter for us with all-time record financial results and the best is still to come. We have delivered strong growth from our investments in the Kentucky Derby, our acquisition of the P2E assets and our organic investments in HRM and other gaming entertainment venues. And we still have a lot more growth to come from the projects we've discussed today and others yet to be far enough along to share with you. We expect our growth plans to drive a material increase in adjusted EBITDA and free cash flow in the coming years, while we maintain one of the best balance sheets in the industry.

總而言之，第二季度對我們來說是又一個偉大的季度，財務業績創歷史新高，而且最好的還在後面。我們通過對肯塔基賽馬會的投資、對 P2E 資產的收購以及對 HRM 和其他遊戲娛樂場所的有機投資實現了強勁增長。我們今天討論的項目和其他尚未進展到足以與您分享的項目還有更多的增長空間。我們預計我們的增長計劃將在未來幾年推動調整後 EBITDA 和自由現金流的大幅增長，同時我們將保持業內最好的資產負債表之一。

With that, I'll turn the call over to Marcia, and then we will take your questions. Marcia?

這樣，我會將電話轉給瑪西婭，然後我們將回答您的問題。瑪西婭？

Thanks, Bill, and good morning, everyone. As Bill shared, we delivered all-time record net revenue and all-time record adjusted EBITDA in the second quarter. Our diversified portfolio of businesses generated a 32% growth in revenue and a 25% growth in adjusted EBITDA on a quarter-over-quarter basis.

謝謝比爾，大家早上好。正如比爾分享的那樣，我們在第二季度創造了歷史最高的淨收入和歷史最高的調整後 EBITDA。我們多元化的業務組合使收入環比增長 32%，調整後 EBITDA 環比增長 25%。

I'll start by sharing a few insights on these financial results, then provide an update on capital management. First, regarding Derby Week at Churchill Downs racetrack, as you saw in the press release that we issued immediately following the Derby, we once again set all-time records for wagering on the Kentucky Derby race, the Kentucky Derby program and the Kentucky Derby week races.

我將首先分享對這些財務業績的一些見解，然後提供有關資本管理的最新信息。首先，關於丘吉爾唐斯賽馬場的德比周，正如您在德比之後立即發布的新聞稿中看到的那樣，我們再次創下了肯塔基德比比賽、肯塔基德比計劃和肯塔基德比周的投注歷史記錄比賽。

TwinSpires also generated record handle on the Derby Week -- on the Derby Day Program and on the Derby Race. Derby Week is expected to generate $14 million to $16 million of incremental adjusted EBITDA for 2023. As a reminder, we recognized nearly all of the revenue and costs associated with Derby Week during the second quarter of the year. However, there are some ongoing SG&A-related costs associated with Derby Week that are recognized throughout the year.

TwinSpires 還在德比周、德比日計劃和德比正賽上創造了紀錄。德比周預計將在 2023 年產生 1400 萬至 1600 萬美元的調整後 EBITDA 增量。提醒一下，我們在今年第二季度確認了幾乎所有與德比周相關的收入和成本。然而，與德比周相關的一些持續的銷售、管理及行政費用（SG&A）相關成本全年都會得到確認。

Also, the impact of Churchill Downs Racetrack from the shift in racing operations to Ellis Park for 3 weeks in June was approximately $4 million. While we are disappointed that we incurred this onetime impact to our financials in the second quarter, we believe it was the best long-term decision for our company.

此外，丘吉爾唐斯賽馬場 (Churchill Downs Racetrack) 6 月份將賽車運營轉移到埃利斯公園 (Ellis Park) 為期三週，對丘吉爾唐斯賽馬場 (Churchill Downs Racetrack) 的影響約為 400 萬美元。雖然我們對第二季度的財務狀況受到一次性影響感到失望，但我們相信這對我們公司來說是最好的長期決定。

Second, our HRM properties in Kentucky and Virginia made strong contributions to our financial results in second quarter. Overall, our HRM properties contributed nearly (inaudible) million, 2/3 of our growth in adjusted EBITDA for the second quarter. Our organic investments in our Kentucky HRM properties grew 10% overall on a quarter-over-quarter basis. And we benefited from the addition of the high-margin Virginia HRM properties that were part of the P2E acquisition.

其次，我們在肯塔基州和弗吉尼亞州的人力資源管理資產為我們第二季度的財務業績做出了巨大貢獻。總體而言，我們的人力資源管理資產貢獻了近（聽不清）百萬美元，佔第二季度調整後 EBITDA 增長的 2/3。我們對肯塔基州人力資源管理資產的有機投資總體環比增長了 10%。我們還受益於高利潤弗吉尼亞人力資源管理資產的增​​加，這些資產是 P2E 收購的一部分。

Our Virginia properties contributed $44 million of adjusted EBITDA in the second quarter, reflecting a 46% margin collectively for these properties. Our margin was 1 point lower in the second quarter than first quarter, reflecting some additional racing-related expenses associated with preparing for the Colonial Downs race meet, which kicked off last week.

我們的弗吉尼亞物業在第二季度貢獻了 4400 萬美元的調整後 EBITDA，反映出這些物業的利潤率為 46%。我們第二季度的利潤率比第一季度低 1 個百分點，反映出與準備上週開始的殖民地唐斯賽馬會相關的一些額外的賽車相關費用。

Our margin was also 1 point lower, primarily as a result of slightly lower top line results and increased marketing spend at our Hampton property. As expected, our Hampton property has seen increased competition from a new casino that opened approximately 6 months ago. We expect to improve margins for our Virginia HRM properties as we enhance the gaming floors, and as we realize the benefit from the Exacta acquisition in the future.

我們的利潤率也下降了 1 個百分點，主要是由於我們漢普頓酒店的營收業績略有下降以及營銷支出增加。正如預期的那樣，我們的漢普頓酒店面臨著來自大約 6 個月前開業的新賭場的激烈競爭。隨著我們增強遊戲場地以及我們認識到未來收購 Exacta 的好處，我們預計會提高弗吉尼亞 HRM 資產的利潤率。

Third, turning to our TwinSpires segment. TwinSpires handle and adjusted EBITDA were impacted in the second quarter from the shift in racing from Churchill Downs to Ellis Park. TwinSpires has a significant market share of Churchill Downs handle and it appears that betters did not shift all of the typical wagering during that time to Ellis Park.

第三，轉向我們的 TwinSpires 部分。第二季度，由於比賽從丘吉爾唐斯轉移到埃利斯公園，TwinSpires 手柄和調整後的 EBITDA 受到影響。 TwinSpires 擁有 Churchill Downs 手柄的重要市場份額，而且看起來更好的玩家並沒有將那段時間所有的典型投注轉移到 Ellis Park。

TwinSpires also was impacted in the quarter by the cancellation of various racetracks of approximately 15% of the Thoroughbred race days during June as well as a number of Standardbred races primarily due to the impact of Canadian wildfires on air quality conditions. We estimate that the combined adjusted EBITDA impact of these 2 unplanned and unusual events in the quarter was less than $2 million.

TwinSpires 在本季度還受到了影響，因為 6 月份約 15% 的純種馬比賽日以及一些標準種馬比賽被取消，這主要是由於加拿大野火對空氣質量狀況的影響。我們估計，本季度這 2 起計劃外和異常事件的調整後 EBITDA 綜合影響不到 200 萬美元。

We also had higher content-related expenses and slightly higher ADW taxes in certain jurisdictions. These unplanned events and higher expenses and taxes were offset by increased adjusted EBITDA affiliated with our B2B expansion related to our horseracing technology and settlement services and the benefits from our continued pivot out of the direct online sports and casino business.

在某些司法管轄區，我們的內容相關費用也較高，ADW 稅也略高。這些計劃外事件以及更高的費用和稅收被我們與賽馬技術和結算服務相關的 B2B 擴張相關的調整後 EBITDA 的增加以及我們繼續從直接在線體育和賭場業務轉向所帶來的好處所抵消。

Despite these challenges, it is important to put the TwinSpires quarterly results in perspective. Although TwinSpires adjusted EBITDA was flat on a quarter-over-quarter basis, it was up 15% on a sequential quarter basis. This reflects the overall strength of this business, including the tremendous benefit it receives from the connection to Churchill Downs racetrack, and the Derby, and we believe it will continue to grow as we expand our B2B strategy.

儘管存在這些挑戰，正確看待 TwinSpires 季度業績仍然很重要。儘管 TwinSpires 調整後 EBITDA 環比持平，但環比增長 15%。這反映了該業務的整體實力，包括它從與丘吉爾唐斯賽馬場和德比賽場的連接中獲得的巨大利益，我們相信，隨著我們擴展 B2B 戰略，它將繼續增長。

We do expect the TwinSpires segment margins to return to more historical levels in the third and fourth quarter of this year and based on our continued B2B and retail sports betting expansion and reduced marketing spend. And fourth, regarding our Gaming business. We once again realized significant contributions in the second quarter from the addition of the New York and Iowa properties acquired in the P2E transaction. As Bill discussed, we did see mild top line softness which resulted in a collective modest decline in adjusted EBITDA on a quarter-over-quarter basis for our existing regional gaming properties.

基於我們持續的 B2B 和零售體育博彩擴張以及營銷支出的減少，我們預計 TwinSpires 部門的利潤率將在今年第三和第四季度恢復到歷史水平。第四，關於我們的遊戲業務。我們在第二季度再次實現了在 P2E 交易中收購的紐約和愛荷華州房產的重大貢獻。正如比爾所討論的，我們確實看到了輕微的營收疲軟，導致我們現有的區域博彩資產調整後的 EBITDA 環比小幅下滑。

Our second quarter same-store wholly owned casino margins were down slightly more than 1 point compared to the same period in 2022. Our margins on a comparable basis are up 3.6 points for the same -- for the second quarter compared to the same quarter in 2019, reflecting our retention of approximately half of the margin expansion benefit from the post-COVID peak in 2021. We recorded a $24.5 million noncash impairment related to the gaming rights intangible for our Presque Isle Casino. This reflects the increasing competitive threat from gray games, the economic environment, including inflationary trends and the high interest rates and the impact of iGaming on retail gaming and the impact of operating in a high tax rate environment in the state.

與 2022 年同期相比，我們第二季度同店全資賭場利潤率略有下降超過 1 個百分點。與 2022 年同期相比，我們第二季度的可比利潤率增長了 3.6 個百分點。 2019 年，我們保留了 2021 年新冠疫情后高峰帶來的約一半利潤擴張收益。我們記錄了與普雷斯克島賭場無形博彩權相關的 2,450 萬美元非現金減值。這反映了灰色遊戲日益增加的競爭威脅、經濟環境，包括通貨膨脹趨勢和高利率以及iGaming對零售遊戲的影響以及在該州高稅率環境下運營的影響。

Turning to capital management. As a reminder, our 2-for-1 stock split was effective May 22, so all of our per share metrics have been updated for this impact. We generated $372 million or $4.87 per share of free cash flow during the first half of the year. This is up $15 million or $0.25 per share over the first half of 2022 and reflects our strong diversified earnings. This increase over the prior year reflects the strong cash flow generated from our businesses that was partially offset by higher interest rates and a $33 million nonrecurring tax refund in 2022.

轉向資本管理。提醒一下，我們的 2 比 1 股票分割於 5 月 22 日生效，因此我們所有的每股指標都已針對這一影響進行了更新。今年上半年，我們創造了 3.72 億美元或每股 4.87 美元的自由現金流。這比 2022 年上半年增加了 1500 萬美元，即每股 0.25 美元，反映了我們強勁的多元化收益。與上一年相比的增長反映了我們業務產生的強勁現金流，但該現金流被較高的利率和 2022 年 3300 萬美元的非經常性退稅部分抵消。

Regarding maintenance capital, we spent $30 million in the first half of the year, and we continue to expect to spend $75 million to $95 million in total for the year. Regarding project capital, we spent $282 million in the first half of the year, and we continue to expect to spend between $575 million and $675 million in total for the year. At the end of the second quarter, our bank covenant net leverage remained at 3.9x. Based on our planned acquisition of Exacta and our capital investments, we continue to expect our bank covenant net leverage to remain in the 4x range through the end of the year. We then expect our bank covenant net leverage to decline in 2024 and 2025.

關於維護資本，我們上半年花費了 3000 萬美元，我們繼續預計全年總共花費 7500 萬至 9500 萬美元。在項目資本方面，我們上半年花費了 2.82 億美元，我們繼續預計今年的支出總額將在 5.75 億至 6.75 億美元之間。第二季度末，我們的銀行契約淨槓桿率保持在3.9倍。根據我們計劃收購 Exacta 和我們的資本投資，我們繼續預計我們的銀行契約淨槓桿率到今年年底將保持在 4 倍範圍內。然後，我們預計我們的銀行契約淨槓桿率將在 2024 年和 2025 年下降。

Overall, we are very pleased with the results that our team has delivered for the second quarter, the diversification of our portfolio and our strong balance sheet provides a solid foundation for growth through various economic cycles and operating opportunities. We're very well positioned to execute on our tangible pipeline of growth opportunities for the remainder of 2023 and beyond.

總體而言，我們對我們的團隊在第二季度取得的業績感到非常滿意，我們的投資組合多元化和強大的資產負債表為各種經濟周期和運營機會的增長奠定了堅實的基礎。我們處於非常有利的位置，可以在 2023 年剩餘時間及以後落實我們切實的增長機會。

With that, I'll turn the call back over to Bill so that he can open the call for questions. Bill?

這樣，我會將電話轉回給比爾，以便他可以開始提問。賬單？

Thank you, Marcia. At this point, we're happy to take your questions. So fire away, please.

謝謝你，瑪西婭。此時，我們很樂意回答您的問題。所以請開火吧。

(Operator Instructions) And our first question comes from the line of David Katz with Jefferies.

（操作員說明）我們的第一個問題來自 David Katz 和 Jefferies 的電話。

Look, I wanted to just talk about the Gaming business, right, in regional gaming. And I suppose we include HRM in there. You've given us a lot of detail, but what I wanted to talk about in a general sense is, is there some -- we've seen some industry numbers that come out a little bit down year-over-year. And I'll speak for myself sort of keeping all of that processed into our numbers for regional gaming has been a little bit more complex in your case because of the growth. What is the underlying economy and demand environment looking like to you and particularly as we start to get into July, how is that sort of setting up going forward?

聽著，我只想談談區域遊戲中的遊戲業務。我想我們將人力資源管理納入其中。你給了我們很多細節，但我想從一般意義上談論的是，是否有一些——我們已經看到一些行業數據同比略有下降。我自己來說，由於增長，將所有這些處理到我們的區域遊戲數據中變得更加複雜。您認為潛在的經濟和需求環境是什麼樣的，特別是當我們開始進入七月時，這種情況的進展如何？

Thanks for the question, David. So first, when you think about our company, you always have to pull back from just a quarter-by-quarter look. Our company, the way we're structured, the way we're built, we're built to deliver a lot of growth over the next few years because of the projects that we've developed and that the pipeline we have. So everything about that is the same as it's been. It's a time of extreme optimism, and it's a time of execution for our company.

謝謝你的提問，大衛。因此，首先，當你想到我們公司時，你總是必須從逐季度的審視中抽身出來。我們的公司，我們的結構方式，我們的建設方式，我們的目標是在未來幾年內實現大量增長，因為我們開發了項目，我們擁有管道。所以一切都和以前一樣。這是一個極度樂觀的時期，也是我們公司執行力的時期。

So anytime I get a specific question about trends you might see in a given month or even over a quarter, I try to frame them in the context of that larger picture of how do we grow our company, how do we build our company. That's something -- that's, of course, you have to set over a multiyear period. And that's, of course, you have to stick through even month-to-month, quarter-to-quarter and year-to-year. So everything about what we're doing in our company remains on course and it remains, a time of great optimism because of the strength of the pipeline that we've built.

因此，每當我收到有關特定月份甚至一個季度內可能出現的趨勢的具體問題時，我都會嘗試將它們放在我們如何發展我們的公司、如何建立我們的公司的更大背景下。這就是——當然，你必須在多年的時間內設定。當然，你甚至必須堅持每月、每季度和每年。因此，我們公司所做的一切都在按計劃進行，而且由於我們所建立的管道的實力，這仍然是一個非常樂觀的時期。

With respect to this prior quarter, I think if you look at the numbers across the entire country, you can see pockets of strength, and you can see pockets of weakness. In general, I'd say that the second half of the quarter was stronger than the first half. And I would say, even though we're currently in an environment where we're demonstrating for you substantial growth in our company, primarily because of the P2E acquisition and some of those properties are performing very, very well for us, we still showed organic growth in our base business absent that acquisition. So those are the larger trends and things, I think, to focus on when you think about our company.

就上一季度而言，我認為如果你看看整個國家的數字，你可以看到一些優勢，也可以看到一些弱點。總的來說，我認為本季度後半段的表現強於上半年。我想說，儘管我們目前所處的環境是我們向您展示我們公司的大幅增長，主要是因為 P2E 收購，而且其中一些資產對我們來說表現非常非常好，但我們仍然展示了如果沒有這次收購，我們的基礎業務就會有機增長。因此，我認為，當您考慮我們公司時，這些是更大的趨勢和需要關注的事情。

And I -- look, I think the important follow-up, if I may, is the growth pipeline -- the considerable growth pipeline, since we last spoke on a public call about it 90 days ago, is still comfortably intact, correct?

我——看，我認為重要的後續行動，如果可以的話，是增長管道——自我們上次在 90 天前的公開電話會議上談論以來，相當大的增長管道仍然完好無損，對嗎？

Yes. I think -- start with the Kentucky Derby and the performance that we saw with the first term project, that really did exceed our expectations in terms of the immediate customer acceptance of that and the positive feedback we got from that. So if you break it down, we feel very, very optimistic about all the projects we're doing around the Derby. And from that, you spread into the HRMs with the Dumfries project that's coming on, the Emporia, all the projects we're doing there. And we feel really good about Terra Haute as well.

是的。我認為——從肯塔基賽馬會開始，我們在第一期項目中看到的表現確實超出了我們的預期，客戶的立即接受度以及我們從中得到的積極反饋。因此，如果你仔細分析的話，我們對圍繞德比所做的所有項目都感到非常非常樂觀。從那時起，你就擴展到了人力資源管理部門，包括即將開展的鄧弗里斯項目、恩波里亞項目以及我們在那裡開展的所有項目。我們對 Terra Haute 也感覺非常好。

So at this point, what's important for us, David, is execute, execute, execute. Get those properties done on time and on budget, just focus on executing the plans we've already put in place. So in general, I'd say there is a lot of cause for optimism and those remain on course for delivery as we previously discussed.

所以在這一點上，大衛，對我們來說最重要的是執行、執行、執行。按時、按預算完成這些房產，只需專注於執行我們已經制定的計劃即可。因此，總的來說，我認為有很多理由保持樂觀，並且正如我們之前討論的那樣，這些仍將按計劃交付。

Our next question comes from the line of Dan Politzer with Wells Fargo.

我們的下一個問題來自丹·波利策 (Dan Politzer) 與富國銀行 (Wells Fargo) 的對話。

I wanted to follow up and drill a bit more into the Gaming segment. I mean, if I look at just the Iowa, New York properties that you recently acquired, it looks like revenue was more or less flat quarter-over-quarter and EBITDA was down. Is there a big seasonality component? Or is there something going on specifically those properties? And along those similar lines, like is there anything specific in Louisiana, that one also stood out as being down a bit year-over-year. I ask this in the context of this was a segment to the prior question, we generally have a good feel for and it seems there was just a lot of squishiness here?

我想跟進並深入了解遊戲領域。我的意思是，如果我只看一下您最近收購的愛荷華州和紐約州的房產，看起來收入與上一季度相比或多或少持平，而 EBITDA 有所下降。是否存在很大的季節性因素？或者這些屬性有什麼特別的事情發生嗎？沿著這些類似的思路，比如路易斯安那州有什麼特別的地方，它也因同比下降了一點而脫穎而出。我問這個問題的背景是這是前一個問題的一部分，我們通常有很好的感覺，而且似乎這裡有很多柔軟的地方？

I think in general, there are some labor pressures at different properties. I think that those are common themes throughout the country. There was also some mild softness just in general on the top line. So I wouldn't want to call out those 2 particular properties or talk about the properties where there is strength. I would just say there's some of that noise going on in the market in general.

我覺得總體來說，不同的物業都存在一定的用工壓力。我認為這些是全國各地的共同主題。頂線上總體上也有一些溫和的柔軟度。所以我不想指出這兩個特定的屬性或談論有實力的屬性。我只想說，市場上總體上存在一些噪音。

In general, it will wash out. I never -- while our team focuses and will respond quickly to data that they'll see week-to-week, I don't personally ever draw big trends from a month or 2 months. And again, in the last quarter, I saw a mixture of things. I thought the worst -- the first half was a little rougher generally than the second half. So I don't want to communicate to you, Dan, that I thought there was anything we needed to significantly adjust to based on what we saw in the first several months of owning that property or what we saw in the last quarter.

一般來說，會被洗掉的。我從來沒有——雖然我們的團隊會關注并快速響應他們每週都會看到的數據，但我個人從來不會從一個月或兩個月中得出大趨勢。在上個季度，我再次看到了一些複雜的情況。我認為最糟糕的是——上半場總體上比下半場要粗糙一些。所以我不想告訴你，丹，我認為根據我們在擁有該房產的前幾個月或上個季度所看到的情況，我們需要進行重大調整。

It's okay. It's going to be fine. It will settle out and it will settle down. And I don't think there's any institutional or seismic or paradigm shifts that we have to adjust to in those markets, in particular or in general?

沒關係。一切都會好起來的。它會安定下來，它會安定下來。我認為在這些市場中，我們不需要適應任何制度或地震或範式的轉變，特別是或總體上？

Got it. That's helpful. And then I know it's a bit early, but as we think about next year's Derby and maybe the puts and takes between the Paddock, the Jockey Club, maybe possibly more B2B deals. And then just it being (inaudible) as you think about pricing, can you maybe walk through some of the puts and takes here as we try to bridge from this year to next year and what may be the most incremental drivers of EBITDA growth?

知道了。這很有幫助。然後我知道現在還為時過早，但當我們考慮明年的德比，也許還有圍場、賽馬俱樂部之間的看跌期權和看跌期權，也許還有更多的 B2B 交易。然後，當您考慮定價時（聽不清），當我們試圖從今年過渡到明年時，您能否在這裡介紹一些看跌期權和看跌期權，以及 EBITDA 增長的最大增量驅動因素是什麼？

Yes. Next year, we're delivering a really seismic change in the on-track experience at Derby. And so we're delivering a bunch of new ticketing options. We're impacting for existing seats we experienced. So next year, you'll see a pretty significant expansion in ticket revenues. I think other things are moving well. Things like wagering are -- the trend lines have been extremely strong there.

是的。明年，我們將為德比的賽道體驗帶來真正的翻天覆地的變化。因此，我們提供了一系列新的票務選項。我們正在影響我們經歷過的現有席位。所以明年，你會看到門票收入大幅增長。我認為其他事情進展順利。像投注這樣的事情——那裡的趨勢線非常強勁。

But the biggest driver of Kentucky Derby EBITDA over time has been the experiences, not seats. We never like to talk about it in terms of seats. We like to talk about it in terms of delivering different experiences for our customers. And next year, Derby 150, which going to be a really significant event in the country, it's -- no one else can really make claims of 150 consecutive events in a row. So we're building around the uniqueness and specialness of the 150th consecutive Derby and the capital investment that's been made in our facility to drive a meaningful increase in ticketing revenues.

但隨著時間的推移，肯塔基德比 EBITDA 的最大推動力是體驗，而不是座位。我們從來不喜歡談論座位的問題。我們喜歡談論為客戶提供不同的體驗。明年，德比 150 賽事將成為該國的一項真正重要的賽事，沒有其他人能真正聲稱自己連續舉辦了 150 場賽事。因此，我們圍繞第 150 屆連續德比的獨特性和特殊性以及對我們設施的資本投資來推動票務收入的大幅增長。

Our next question comes from the line of Barry Jonas with Truist Securities.

我們的下一個問題來自 Truist Securities 的 Barry Jonas。

Happy to hear racing is coming back to Churchill Downs soon. But wanted to just ask about the suspension. What were the conclusions of the investigation and what steps have been taken to minimize future risks?

很高興聽到比賽即將回到丘吉爾唐斯。但只是想問一下暫停的情況。調查的結論是什麼？已採取哪些措施來盡量減少未來的風險？

Thanks for the call, Barry. So we'll announce shortly more details on the September meet and some of the safety protocols that will be enhanced. But the takeaway is, the track is very safe and what we needed to do is spend some of this time in the interim while the track -- while we ran the rest of the race meet at Ellis, to just go soup to nuts through every single thing we do at the racetrack. There were nothing that jumped out as an apparent cause of the injuries or the breakdowns.

感謝您的來電，巴里。因此，我們將很快宣布有關 9 月會議的更多細節以及一些將得到增強的安全協議。但要點是，賽道非常安全，我們需要做的就是在賽道上花一些時間，同時我們在埃利斯進行剩下的比賽，全力以赴地通過每一個賽道。我們在賽馬場做的一件事。沒有任何明顯的原因導致受傷或故障。

And as we went through and rebuilt our processes from the ground up to check everything that we do to make extra sure, we didn't find anything material. So the way to think about news like that is, you have to do the best you can. You have to take the steps that you can to make it as safe as possible, and you constantly have to challenge yourself and review everything you do, but this was a series of unfortunate circumstances that happened during the early portion of our meet.

當我們從頭開始重新構建我們的流程以檢查我們所做的一切以確保更加確定時，我們沒有發現任何材料。因此，思考新聞的方式是，你必須盡力而為。你必須採取盡可能安全的措施，你必須不斷挑戰自己並回顧你所做的一切，但這是在我們會議的早期階段發生的一系列不幸的情況。

And to the extent that there can be good that comes out of it, everything we'll do going forward starting in September, we'll do a little bit better and a little -- and be a little bit more thorough and we'll learn what we can but there aren't any material changes that have been made to the structure of the track or the surface of the track because bringing in some of the best -- to help us evaluate it, we didn't find anything fundamentally wrong or different about our track from previous years.

從 9 月份開始，我們將做的每一件事，只要能帶來好的結果，我們都會做得更好一點，更徹底一點，我們會了解我們能學到的東西，但賽道的結構或賽道的表面沒有發生任何實質性的變化，因為引入了一些最好的東西——為了幫助我們評估它，我們沒有從根本上發現任何東西我們的軌跡與前幾年有錯誤或不同。

So that, in a sense, can sometimes be unsatisfying, but that's business and that's sports. We just have to commit to continually doing everything we can, constant incremental improvements to be as safe as we possibly can. And we've done that.

因此，從某種意義上說，有時可能會令人不滿意，但這就是商業，這就是體育。我們只需要致力於不斷盡我們所能，不斷進行漸進式改進，以盡可能確保安全。我們已經做到了。

Great. I appreciate that color. Just as a follow-up, I wanted to ask about the Richmond casino process. How do you see the valid initiative process differing now versus the last time?

偉大的。我很欣賞那種顏色。作為後續，我想詢問一下里士滿賭場的流程。您認為現在的有效倡議流程與上次相比有何不同？

This time, we have the benefit of the data behind the process that was run a couple of years ago that didn't involve us. So the task of our team, of our partnership is to evaluate everything about last time to find places where we can drive incremental improvement. So the good news about running a rough run in the second time and again, we didn't run it the first time, but our partner was involved in running it the first time, the good news about doing that is you have a lot of data about how people voted and why they voted that way. And we'll try to take all that and fold that into our processes this time to drive incremental improvement. It was 51-49 last time. It wasn't a catastrophic defeat. It was lost in the margins. So we'll be fighting to win the confidence and the approval of those voters and the margins that last time didn't have enough confidence in the project.

這一次，我們受益於幾年前運行的流程背後的數據，而我們並未參與其中。因此，我們團隊和合作夥伴的任務是評估上次的一切，找到可以推動漸進改進的地方。因此，關於第二次一次又一次進行粗略運行的好消息是，我們第一次沒有運行它，但我們的合作夥伴參與了第一次運行它，這樣做的好消息是你有很多有關人們如何投票以及為何這樣投票的數據。這次我們將嘗試將所有這些納入我們的流程中，以推動漸進式改進。上次比分是51-49。這並不是一場災難性的失敗。它丟失在邊緣。因此，我們將努力贏得那些選民的信心和認可，以及上次對該項目沒有足夠信心的選民。

And our next question comes from the line of Joe Stauff with SIG.

我們的下一個問題來自 SIG 的 Joe Stauff。

Marcia, Bill, I know you had mentioned in your opening comments, but I wanted to ask you maybe the best way to think about timing of the benefits associated with the new Kentucky law and outlying basically great market machines. It's a tough answer, right, in terms of anticipating when -- say, that tailwind starts to show up for you guys. So I wonder if you could maybe talk about that a little bit more? And then I have one follow-up, please.

瑪西婭、比爾，我知道你們在開場白中提到過，但我想問你們，也許最好的方式是考慮與新肯塔基州法律和外圍基本上偉大的市場機器相關的好處的時機。這是一個艱難的答案，對吧，就預測何時——比如說，順風開始出現在你們身上而言。所以我想知道你是否可以多談談這個問題？然後我有一個後續行動。

Sure. So it was the decision of the legislature to pass legislation, which was signed by the governor. Banning gray games was a really good thing for the Commonwealth. Gaming is supposed to be a regulated and taxed business. And particularly, on the regulatory front, it's important that there are basic protocols and processes in place to protect patrons who choose to participate and to prevent patrons who shouldn't be participating.

當然。因此，立法機關決定通過立法，並由州長簽署。禁止灰色遊戲對英聯邦來說確實是一件好事。博彩業應該是一項受監管和納稅的行業。特別是，在監管方面，重要的是要有基本的協議和流程來保護選擇參與的顧客並阻止不應該參與的顧客。

So all in all, this was a very good thing that happened in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Obviously, when you have unregulated, unlicensed, uncontrolled gaming, you see a lot of proliferation and expansion. And this arrested all of that. This stopped all of that. So as we go forward from this point, and the opportunity for people to engage in that illegal gray game behavior is no longer there, you will see some of that demand shift over, but as a matter of launch, you'll see that shift over to the license regulated gaming, which we participate in the HRM business.

總而言之，這是發生在肯塔基州的一件非常好的事情。顯然，當遊戲不受監管、未經許可、不受控制時，你會看到大量的擴散和擴張。這一切都被阻止了。這一切都停止了。因此，當我們從這一點繼續前進時，人們參與非法灰色遊戲行為的機會不再存在，你會看到一些需求發生變化，但作為發布的問題，你會看到這種轉變轉向許可證監管的博彩業，我們參與人力資源管理業務。

As to the individual impact of that, it will probably vary by facility. And it will be hard to always isolate because at every one of our properties, we're also doing other things to improve our business. For example, Derby City Gaming, we've opened up the hotel. We're learning how to run that well. We've expanded the gaming floor. We also have sports wagering that goes live on September 7. So we have these other good things that are going on in our properties across the state.

至於其對個人的影響，可能會因設施而異。而且很難總是孤立，因為在我們的每一處房產中，我們還在做其他事情來改善我們的業務。比如德比城博彩，我們就開設了酒店。我們正在學習如何跑得好。我們擴大了遊戲場地。我們還有將於 9 月 7 日上線的體育博彩活動。因此，我們在全州的房產中也正在開展其他好事。

And one more positive factor will be the fact that illegal gaming in Kentucky is no longer permissible. So I can't totally isolate it for you at this time as we actually get real data and as I think you know, we're a very data-driven company. As we actually get real data into the system, maybe we'll be able to comment more specifically. But at this time, it's just kicking off. And we know it's going to be positive, but it's hard to quantify.

另一個積極因素是肯塔基州不再允許非法賭博。因此，我現在無法為您完全隔離它，因為我們實際上獲得了真實數據，並且我想您知道，我們是一家非常數據驅動的公司。當我們實際將真實數據輸入系統時，也許我們能夠更具體地發表評論。但此時，一切才剛剛開始。我們知道這將是積極的，但很難量化。

Got you. And then just a follow-up on the Dumfries comments which you had. Phase 1 second quarter, I believe you outlined 1,150 in terms of just the number of units. What is the right way to think about how quickly or you think about adding and getting up to that more maximum number of roughly 1,800 units?

明白你了。然後是對鄧弗里斯評論的跟進。第二季度第一階段，我相信您僅從單位數量上概述了 1,150 個。考慮以多快的速度添加並達到大約 1,800 個單位的最大數量的正確方法是什麼？

Really good question. I think you can call it or go a couple of different ways. And I think we'll see how quickly it ramps. We'll be talking to the community about the conditions around expansion, which involves opening the event center and the other spaces. We'll be looking at all of that based on what actually happens when we open.

真是個好問題。我認為你可以這樣稱呼它，或者採取幾種不同的方式。我想我們會看到它的增長速度有多快。我們將與社區討論擴建的條件，其中包括開放活動中心和其他空間。我們將根據開業時實際發生的情況來考慮所有這些。

Obviously, we -- while without being able to predict the future, we expect strong demand, particularly on a per-machine basis. So give us a little bit of time to get it open. Give us a little bit of time to complete the road infrastructure. Give us a little bit of time to talk to the community about our partnership for expansion of the facility. All of that will be in play and we'll go from there.

顯然，我們雖然無法預測未來，但預計需求強勁，特別是在每台機器的基礎上。所以給我們一點時間來打開它。給我們一點時間來完成道路基礎設施。請給我們一點時間與社區討論我們在擴建設施方面的合作夥伴關係。所有這些都將發揮作用，我們將從那裡開始。

We're obviously interested in ramping up as quickly as we can. We think the demand is going to be there and is going to be there quickly. But all of this has to be done carefully and in conjunction with the community and their expectations on traffic flow and the other amenities in the facility. We're prepared to move very, very quickly. And we probably end up -- we'll end up doing that, but I don't want to promise that until we get the place open.

我們顯然有興趣盡快提高產量。我們認為需求將會存在，而且會很快出現。但所有這些都必須謹慎完成，並與社區及其對交通流量和設施內其他設施的期望結合起來。我們準備非常非常快地採取行動。我們最終可能會這樣做，但在我們開放這個地方之前我不想做出這樣的承諾。

Your next question comes from the line of Chad Beynon with Macquarie.

你的下一個問題來自查德·貝農 (Chad Beynon) 與麥格理 (Macquarie) 的對話。

First, with respect to reducing leverage, you obviously have several options, including divesting assets, sale leasebacks, you have some excess land that could be sold or you could just grow your way out of leverage, which is kind of how you framed it before, given the ramping and opening of properties that you've laid out. Given the current status of the environment from a macro standpoint, has anything changed just in terms of how you're planning on deleveraging?

首先，關於降低杠桿，你顯然有多種選擇，包括剝離資產、售後回租、你有一些多餘的土地可以出售，或者你可以通過增長來擺脫槓桿，這就是你之前的框架。考慮到您已佈置的房產的增加和開放。從宏觀角度考慮目前的環境狀況，您去槓桿的計劃是否發生了變化？

I don't believe anything has really changed. While I read the same articles and look at the same data, many other people do about the economy and understand the natural concerns people might have about the state of the economy over the next year or 2 and interest rates, et cetera, for us, this is a time of expansion in our company. We have a very strong pipeline of great projects that make sense in any economic environment. So nothing about the current economy makes us want to change our plans for executing our growth strategy.

我不相信任何事情都發生了真正的改變。當我閱讀相同的文章並查看相同的數據時，許多其他人對經濟進行了研究，並理解人們對未來一兩年的經濟狀況和利率等的自然擔憂，對我們來說，這是我們公司的擴張時期。我們擁有大量在任何經濟環境下都有意義的偉大項目。因此，當前的經濟狀況並沒有讓我們想要改變執行增長戰略的計劃。

And along with our growth strategy and along with these properties and projects we've talked about today, will come a lot of additional EBITDA. And that's how we've been building this company over the last number of years, and that's how we're going to continue to build it even through an economic cycle that some people feel is likely to give people headwinds. I don't think we believe as a senior management team that we're feeling the headwinds in any material respect. So we're going to go continue to do what we've been doing, and we're -- we feel fortunate and blessed to have the pipeline of opportunities that we have.

隨著我們的增長戰略以及我們今天討論的這些房產和項目，將會帶來大量額外的 EBITDA。這就是我們過去幾年建立這家公司的方式，也是我們將繼續建立這家公司的方式，即使在一些人認為可能會給人們帶來不利影響的經濟周期中也是如此。我認為，作為高級管理團隊，我們並沒有在任何實質性方面感受到阻力。因此，我們將繼續做我們一直在做的事情，我們感到幸運和幸運，能夠擁有我們所擁有的一系列機會。

And then back to Virginia, the HRMs, you can outline the process in Dumfries, and I'm guessing it would be the same with the licenses that you have remaining outside of that. Lot of items going on in Virginia with new properties opening. We've seen North Carolina land-based casino legislation potentially proposed. But in terms of those last licenses, can you kind of help us think about the time line of when you would kind of greenlight those or pick sites? Is this something that could be several years out or maybe after the Richmond ballot and some other items in North Carolina that would give you enough confidence to kind of move forward in certain locations?

然後回到弗吉尼亞州，人力資源管理部門，您可以在鄧弗里斯概述該流程，我猜這與您在該流程之外剩餘的許可證相同。隨著新房產的開業，弗吉尼亞州正在開展許多項目。我們已經看到北卡羅來納州可能提出陸基賭場立法。但就最後的許可證而言，您能否幫助我們考慮一下您何時批准這些許可證或選擇站點的時間線？這是否可能是幾年後的事情，或者可能是在里士滿投票和北卡羅來納州的其他一些項目之後，會給你足夠的信心在某些地方取得進展？

Sure. Good question. I'm reminded of the famed UCLA basketball coach, John Wooden, "Be quick, but don't hurry." So we plan on moving very quickly with respect to our remaining licenses in Virginia, and we think about things about what we do with underperforming ones as well, although they've all been fairly solid.

當然。好問題。我想起了著名的加州大學洛杉磯分校籃球教練約翰·伍登（John Wooden），“要快，但不要著急。”因此，我們計劃非常迅速地處理弗吉尼亞州剩餘的許可證，並且我們也會考慮如何處理表現不佳的許可證，儘管它們都相當穩定。

So I think you'll see us move as quickly as we possibly can. There's really a two-pronged approach to thinking about it. One is we have to identify markets in the state that we think are the best markets to use 1 of 10 licenses. We have to identify those. And then we have to go talk to those communities and get support to run a referendum. And as part of that phase, we also have to win the referendum. So there's a lot that can happen in that second phase.

所以我想你會看到我們盡可能快地採取行動。確實有一個雙管齊下的方法來思考這個問題。一是我們必須確定我們認為使用 10 個許可證中的 1 個許可證的最佳市場所在州的市場。我們必須識別那些。然後我們必須與這些社區交談並獲得支持以進行公投。作為該階段的一部分，我們還必須贏得公投。因此，第二階段可能會發生很多事情。

And now we have additional things like the activity in North Carolina, which impacts Virginia because Virginia shares its Southern border with North Carolina immediately to their south. So we weren't very focused for any additional sites anywhere near the southern border of Virginia because that's where the class 3 casinos in Virginia are largely -- that's where they're all located except for the Richmond license, which is the one we're participating for. The rest of them are down there on the southern border.

現在我們還有其他事情，比如北卡羅來納州的活動，這會影響弗吉尼亞州，因為弗吉尼亞州與北卡羅來納州接壤，緊鄰其南部。因此，我們並沒有非常關注弗吉尼亞州南部邊境附近的任何其他地點，因為那裡是弗吉尼亞州 3 級賭場的主要所在地，除了里士滿許可證之外，這些賭場都位於那裡，而里士滿許可證是我們的許可證。重新參與。其餘的人都在南部邊境。

So that was not a market that we were interested in continuing to pursue any way for any of our remaining Virginia licenses. We're looking through more of the middle portion in the upper portion of the state. And we have lots of leads and lots of opportunities that we're exploring, but that second phase I was talking to you about where the community is really your partnership in these, you have to have the City Council support, you have -- or the county support, depending on the individual site and you have to win a referendum.

因此，這不是我們有興趣繼續以任何方式尋求我們剩餘的弗吉尼亞許可證的市場。我們正在探索該州上部的更多中部地區。我們有很多線索和很多機會正在探索，但在第二階段，我和你談論的是社區實際上是你在這些方面的合作夥伴，你必須得到市議會的支持，你有——或者縣的支持，取決於各個站點，並且您必須贏得公投。

Those are the logistics and the wrinkles that make this more than an academic exercise of simply looking at population centers and wealth centers through the state. So we're sorting all of that out. We, of course, want to get to 10 licenses as quickly as we responsibly can. But we don't want to waste any. The challenge for the team is how do we maximize each of those licenses and that's back to that quote, "Be quick, but to hurry," we don't want to make mistakes and deploy these to suboptimal places. So I think you'll see us be very active in 2023, 2024, and to the extent we have remaining licenses, 2025.

這些後勤和皺紋使得這不僅僅是一項簡單地通過國家觀察人口中心和財富中心的學術活動。所以我們正在整理所有這些。當然，我們希望負責任地盡快獲得 10 個許可證。但我們不想浪費任何東西。團隊面臨的挑戰是我們如何最大化每個許可證，這又回到了那句話，“要快，但要快”，我們不想犯錯誤並將它們部署到次優的地方。因此，我認為您會看到我們在 2023 年、2024 年非常活躍，並且在 2025 年我們還有剩餘許可證的情況下。

Our next question comes from the line of Jordan Bender with JMP Securities.

我們的下一個問題來自 JMP 證券公司的 Jordan Bender。

Maybe a bigger picture question on TwinSpires in the horseracing industry. So with horseracing getting maybe a little bit more crowded with fixed odds, you are some of the real money gaming companies coming into this space. Does consolidation make sense either from a track perspective to control more of the distribution of content or even platform M&A just to gain scale within the industry?

也許是關於賽馬行業 TwinSpires 的一個更大的問題。因此，隨著賽馬的固定賠率變得更加擁擠，你們是進入這個領域的一些真錢遊戲公司。無論是從控制更多內容分發的軌道角度來看，還是只是為了在行業內擴大規模而進行平台併購，整合是否有意義？

Always a good question in times of change and uncertainty. It's always a good question to think through things like that. What I would say is, I believe our company has the single best online gaming asset. Others might disagree with that, and they're free to have their opinion. But our asset has stood the test of time. It generates a great deal of EBITDA. It demonstrates strong consistent margins. It's a great asset. So as we look at the winds of change in the online gaming space, whether it be horseracing or larger, we look at that from a position of strength, knowing that we have something that's very valuable, that is a proven commodity, and around which we can build.

在變化和不確定的時代，這始終是一個好問題。思考這樣的事情總是一個好問題。我想說的是，我相信我們公司擁有最好的在線遊戲資產。其他人可能不同意這一點，他們可以自由發表意見。但我們的資產經受住了時間的考驗。它產生了大量的 EBITDA。它顯示出強勁的持續利潤率。這是一筆巨大的財富。因此，當我們審視在線遊戲領域的變革之風時，無論是賽馬還是更大的領域，我們都會從優勢地位來看待這一點，因為我們知道我們擁有一些非常有價值的東西，這是一種經過驗證的商品，並且圍繞它我們可以建造。

So I think I would start my answer with that, and I would end with that. We pay attention to all the themes and all the trends that are going on, but we really, really like our business, and we know how strong it is and we know what it's capable of. And we have lots of thoughts on how we can and should build that. But we also -- we're never cocky about it or overconfident about it. We're also really watching to see how things develop because nobody really has a crystal ball, including us. So we're the company that tries to be good at responding to reality.

所以我想我會以此開始我的回答，並以此結束。我們關注所有正在發生的主題和趨勢，但我們真的非常喜歡我們的業務，我們知道它有多強大，我們知道它的能力。關於我們如何能夠並且應該如何構建它，我們有很多想法。但我們也——我們從不對此自滿或過度自信。我們也在密切關注事情的發展，因為沒有人真正擁有水晶球，包括我們。所以我們是一家努力善於應對現實的公司。

We're not claiming that we have a crystal ball and that we can always predict what happens. But we do think that our track record shows that we're very good at responding rationally and in real time to what actually happens in the markets out there. And this is the time now and over the next couple of years, where we're going to see various changes in the competitor landscape and in the markets in general as this sort of nascent online sports wagering space grows up a little bit.

我們並不是說我們有一個水晶球並且我們總能預測會發生什麼。但我們確實認為，我們的往績記錄表明，我們非常善於對市場實際發生的情況做出理性、實時的反應。現在和未來幾年，隨著這種新興的在線體育博彩空間的一點點成長，我們將看到競爭對手格局和整個市場的各種變化。

Great. And then for my follow-up, I know there's always a push to get international involvement into the Derby, maybe just an update on what you saw this year, coming out of Europe, coming out of Japan, either from a wagering or a participation point of view?

偉大的。然後對於我的後續行動，我知道總是有推動國際參與德比的努力，也許只是你今年看到的最新情況，來自歐洲，來自日本，無論是通過投注還是參與觀點看法？

We're still in the -- we're still in the beginning of our Odyssey on international. It is a big focus for us, particularly around ticketing and reach. So it's -- as several initiatives in the company have started, when you first start them, you're seeing change, but it's off a very small base. And that's how I'd say our international profile looks.

我們仍處於國際奧德賽的開始階段。這是我們關注的重點，特別是在票務和覆蓋範圍方面。所以，正如公司已經啟動的幾項舉措一樣，當你第一次啟動它們時，你會看到變化，但基礎非常小。這就是我所說的我們的國際形象。

We're seeing improvement, we're seeing encouragement, but it's off a very small base. But for our company, this is a big push going forward. We want our content out there for wagering and we also want to reach the consumers across industrialized -- the industrialized world where just about in any major industrialized country, you see horseracing just about not in every one, but in most, we want to reach those customers because as you know, covering our company, but also from our discussion a little bit earlier, driving ticket revenue, high-end ticket revenue, that's a big part of the Kentucky Derby economic puzzle, that's something we've been good at. And we want to reach those people that already demonstrate, they pay those ticket prices to go to the equivalent of the Kentucky Derby.

我們看到了進步，看到了鼓勵，但基礎很小。但對於我們公司來說，這是一個巨大的推動力。我們希望我們的內容可供下注，我們也希望覆蓋整個工業化國家的消費者——在工業化世界中，幾乎在任何主要工業化國家，賽馬並不是在每個國家都可以看到，但在大多數國家，我們希望覆蓋這些客戶因為如你所知，報導我們公司，而且從我們之前的討論來看，推動門票收入、高端門票收入，這是肯塔基德比經濟難題的重要組成部分，這是我們一直擅長的事情。我們希望接觸到那些已經展示過的人，他們支付這些票價來參加相當於肯塔基德比的比賽。

So it's not really -- but the equivalent of that race, our race in other countries. So it's a focus, but the base is so small right now. It's not a material change that we're talking about. But over the next 3 to 5 years, you'll hear us talking a lot more about this because we're going to be demonstrating real commitment and effort to growing to that piece of our pie.

所以這並不是真正的比賽，而是相當於我們在其他國家的比賽。所以這是一個焦點，但目前基礎還很小。我們談論的不是物質變化。但在接下來的 3 到 5 年裡，你會聽到我們更多地談論這個問題，因為我們將表現出真正的承諾和努力，以實現我們的這塊蛋糕。

I would now like to hand the call back over to CEO, Bill Carstanjen for any closing remarks.

現在，我想將電話轉回給首席執行官 Bill Carstanjen，讓其發表結束語。

Thank you. I want to thank all of you who participate in these calls, that listen in for your interest in our company, for your commitment to our company. The folks had asked questions today, these were in particularly, really strong, sharp questions and we appreciate them. We'll try to be good stewards of people's trust in us and the capital that they've given us.

謝謝。我要感謝所有參與這些​​電話會議、收聽電話會議的人，感謝你們對我們公司的興趣，以及你們對我們公司的承諾。今天大家提出了問題，這些問題特別強烈、尖銳，我們對此表示感謝。我們將努力成為人們對我們的信任以及他們給予我們的資本的好管家。

So we'll talk to you next quarter, but you're going to see activity over the next 90 days because we're not slowing down. We're charging ahead. This is a good time. There's opportunity. There's opportunity in environments like this. And this management team, this group of people, we've been together a long time, and we've proven through a variety of different environments that we can succeed. So we're full speed ahead building our company, even if others out there are showing reticence, not us. So we'll talk to you in 90 days. Thanks again for your confidence. Talk soon.

因此，我們將在下個季度與您討論，但您將在接下來的 90 天內看到活動，因為我們不會放慢速度。我們正在向前衝鋒。這是一個好時機。有機會。在這樣的環境中存在機會。這個管理團隊，這群人，我們已經在一起很長時間了，我們已經通過各種不同的環境證明了我們能夠成功。因此，我們正在全速建設我們的公司，即使其他人（而不是我們）表現出沉默。我們將在 90 天后與您聯繫。再次感謝您的信任。一會再聊。

Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating, and you may now disconnect.

女士們、先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與，您現在可以斷開連接。