Street Fare Derby Presented by Budweiser Sept. 24

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Jim Mulvihill
Communications and Pari-Mutuel Marketing Manager
504.948.1233
james.mulvihill@fgno.com

                                Street Fare Derby Presented by Budweiser Sept. 24
                              Food Trucks, Street Fare, Kermit Ruffins, Papa Grows Funk,
                               Quarter Horse Racing and More at First-of-Its-Kind Event

NEW ORLEANS (Tuesday, August 23, 2011) – NOLAfoodtrucks.com and Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots will celebrate the culture of street food, food trucks, and beyond at the inaugural Street Fare Derby Presented by Budweiser on Closing Day of the track’s Summer Quarter Horse Meet, Saturday, September 24, from 12:30 to 6 p.m. The afternoon of delicious eats from the street also includes live music by New Orleans mainstays Kermit Ruffins & The Barbecue Swingers (3-5 p.m.) and Papa Grows Funk (12:30-2:30 p.m.).

General admission to Fair Grounds during the Summer Quarter Horse Meet is always free. Admission to the Street Fare Derby the day of the event is $15. Advance tickets are available online exclusively through StreetFareDerby.com for $10. A one-hour VIP Hour with early access beginning at 11:30 a.m. is also available online for $40 per person, which includes unlimited tastings from every vendor plus beer and cocktails during the 60-minute preview. The Street Fare Derby will continue until 6 p.m., shortly after the day’s final race.

Participating vendors include Curbside Truck, The Fry Bar, Geaux Plates and Woody’s Fish Tacos, with many more to be announced in coming weeks.

Fair Grounds initially ventured into the world of street fare with invitations to local food trucks during its popular Starlight Racing series on Friday nights during the Thoroughbred Racing Season. The overwhelming response, coupled with an explosion of public interest in street fare nationally, led Fair Grounds officials to seek a partner in NOLAFoodTrucks.com for what will be the first-ever major gathering of food trucks and street fare vendors in New Orleans.

“We are excited to partner with NOLAfoodtrucks.com and to continue our efforts to expose casual and new-to-racing fans to not only our industry, but to the versatility of entertainment experiences offered here at Fair Grounds,” said Senior Director of Marketing Mark Conner. “The Street Fare Derby blends the best features of New Orleans culture – world-class entertainment, exceptional food and convivial socializing – at one of the city’s truly historic and traditional gathering places.”

As evidenced by such TV shows as The Great Food Truck Race and Eat St., the street food craze is sweeping the nation as a fun, delicious and affordable alternative to the traditional sit down restaurant. New Orleans’ emerging food truck scene is buoyed by the city’s plethora of adventurous chefs and a citywide tradition of high-quality food relative to other major American cities. Those new and familiar to the New Orleans street food scene will encounter more edible options in one place than ever before.

“If you’re curious about this exciting but still relatively underground culture in New Orleans and beyond, come eat on the street with us,” said NOLAfoodtrucks.com co-founder Lizzy Caston. “It’s a fun way to celebrate some lesser known, but still some of the best, food in the City. It’s also a terrific way to show support for small independently owned businesses that are the backbone of the New Orleans economy.”

The race to find your favorite street food is on!

About NOLAFoodTrucks.com
NOLAfoodtrucks.com: part of the mission is to help explore, and advocate, around the benefits of street food, and we hope to provide resources, research and other advocacy to help make the street food scene in New Orleans even better. Street Fare Derby is an effort in the same direction. Food trucks have been proven to help create vibrant commercial districts and thriving neighborhoods by bringing what urban planners call a “social fabric on the street” to otherwise blighted areas, which is great in real estate development terms, but in economic terms also attracts other spenders. Mobile food options have also been proven to bring healthy and affordable dining options to low-income and other underserved “food deserts” in cities. Street food, when carefully regulated, can be a win for everyone: government, neighborhoods, community, small business and taste buds.

About Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots
Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots: the nation’s third-oldest racetrack, has been in operation since 1872. Located in New Orleans, Fair Grounds is owned by Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ Global Select Market: CHDN); it also operates a slot-machine gaming facility and 10 off-track betting parlors throughout southeast Louisiana. The fourth Summer Quarter Horse Meet will be held Sept. 7-24, 2011, and the 140th Thoroughbred Racing Season will run Nov. 24, 2011 to April 1, 2012, highlighted by the $1 million Louisiana Derby on April 1. More information can be found online at www.FairGroundsRaceCourse.com.

-FG-