I think you are right and you're wrong. Though Churchill's fees are extravagant, there are ways to get around them and still attain the rights to use the words "Kentucky Derby" on the chip. In my book if you attain the rights to use those words, you've got yourself an official Kentucky Derby chip.

"Thunder over Louisville" has nothing to do with Churchill Downs but has plenty to do with the Derby. That "Thunder" chip also had "Kentucky Derby Festival" printed on it. That makes it far preferable to the generic "Win, Place, Show" or "Big Race Day" chips that come out (though I like them as well). The Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA) and the Triple Crown Association are also avenues around actually licensing through Churchill, while still acquiring "Derby" rights. Gene Trimble may comment on that. The Palms has used one or maybe both avenues. Also, going directly to the owners of the horses somehow can get you the rights to use the words "Kentucky Derby Winner." Help, Gene.

Churchill Downs is tough to break through with, and I can understand why. Can you imagine the amount of requests they get and the huge amount of licensing and marketing that goes on using the Derby as the selling point? Each year, I submit a Derby trivia puzzle to Churchill in hopes of getting it published in their program. I succeded once (1999 I think). This year I got a lot of positive feedback from them but they kept passing me on to someone else and, eventually, the original "We would love to use the puzzle" got lost in the zillions of Derby-related submissions they get. They aren't going to use it this year I don't think.

I'll stick to my guns, though. As long as the words "Kentucky Derby" appear on a chip, it is an "official Derby chip" IMO, in a sense that the generic chips are not. Which is a whole different matter than saying the chip is an officially licensed Churchill Downs product. Those two distinctions have nothing to do with each other.

Cinch