Churchill Downs
5
5.4
- proper noun
- /ˈtʃɜrʧɪl daʊnz/
- As the horses rounded the final turn, the crowd erupted in cheers at Churchill Downs.
- allowance at Churchill Downs
Examples
-
Good morning and welcome to Churchill Downs and the post position draw for the 135th running of the Kentucky Derby.
-
Hello, Mr. Allen, this is Ben Huffman, racing secretary at Churchill Downs.
-
Well, good luck to you and welcome to Churchill Downs.
-
"One way or another, he'll be ready for Churchill Downs."
Fiction book (1995) -
You want to collect at Churchill Downs, and so do I.
Fiction book (1995) -
" I'm going everywhere the colt goes, including the winner's circle at Churchill Downs.
Fiction book (1995) -
They'd stay in Kentucky until after the Derby, moving from Keeneland to Churchill Downs.
Fiction book (1995) -
If he lost at Churchill Downs, there would be no more Marlas, no more big country house, no more strutting into the paddock.
Fiction book (1995) -
Welcome to Churchill Downs, the historic racetrack known for the Kentucky Derby.
-
Every May, thousands flock to Churchill Downs to witness the excitement of the Kentucky Derby.
Surface Forms
Morphology
Churchill + down
This is a proper name combining a surname ('Churchill') with 'downs' (hills), so a learner might infer a place or landscape but would not be able to derive the specific meaning 'famous horse racetrack / site of the Kentucky Derby'. The referential and cultural knowledge required (that this place is a racetrack) is not predictable from the constituent words, making the expression opaque to a B1 learner who only knows the parts.
Etymology
Churchill Downs gets its name from the Churchill family and the word Downs, meaning open 'fields' where the first race track was built long ago. That's why Churchill Downs today means the famous racetrack where the 'Kentucky Derby' is held.