| **Description of Business**          | 3 Months Ended                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  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| **Basis of Presentation [Abstract]** |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 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| Description of Business              | DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESSBasis of PresentationThe Churchill Downs Incorporated (the "Company", "we", "us", "our") financial statements are presented in conformity with the requirements of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and consequently do not include all of the disclosures normally required by U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") or those normally made in our Annual Report on Form 10-K.  The December 31, 2019 condensed consolidated balance sheet data was derived from audited financial statements but does not include all disclosures required by GAAP.The following information is unaudited.  All per share amounts assume dilution unless otherwise noted.  This report should be read in conjunction with our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019.In the opinion of management, all adjustments necessary for a fair statement of this information have been made, and all such adjustments are of a normal, recurring nature.We conduct our business through three reportable segments: Churchill Downs, Online Wagering, and Gaming.  We aggregate our other businesses as well as certain corporate operations, and other immaterial joint ventures, in All Other.  We report net revenue and operating expense associated with these reportable segments in the accompanying condensed consolidated statements of comprehensive income.  Recent Developments Regarding COVID-19In recent months, a new strain of coronavirus (COVID-19) has spread to many countries in the world, including the United States, and the outbreak has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization.  The U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services has also declared a public health emergency in the United States in response to the outbreak.  Considerable uncertainty still surrounds the COVID-19 virus and its potential effects, and the extent of and effectiveness of responses taken on international, national and local levels.  Measures taken to limit the impact of COVID-19, including shelter-in-place orders, social distancing measures, travel bans and restrictions, and business and government shutdowns, have already resulted in significant negative economic impacts in the United States and in relation to our business.  The long-term impact of COVID-19 on the United States and world economies remains uncertain, the duration and scope of which cannot currently be predicted.In response to the measures taken to limit the impact of COVID-19 described above, and for the protection of our employees, customers, and communities, we have temporarily closed or suspended operations at the following properties, effective as of the following dates:Churchill Downs•Simulcast operations at Churchill Downs Racetrack on March 15, 2020.•Derby City Gaming on March 15, 2020.Gaming   Wholly-Owned Properties•Calder Casino and Racing ("Calder") on March 16, 2020.•Fair Grounds Slots and Video Services, LLC ("VSI") on March 16, 2020.  •Fair Grounds Race Course conducted spectator-free live racing, including the Louisiana Derby, from March 13, 2020 through March 21, 2020 and canceled the remainder of racing dates.•Harlow's Casino Resort and Spa ("Harlow's") on March 16, 2020.•Ocean Downs Casino and Racetrack ("Ocean Downs") on March 15, 2020.•Oxford Casino and Hotel ("Oxford") on March 16, 2020.•Presque Isle Downs and Casino ("Presque Isle") on March 16, 2020.•Riverwalk Casino Hotel ("Riverwalk") on March 16, 2020.   Managed Properties•Lady Luck Casino Nemacolin ("Lady Luck Nemacolin") on March 16, 2020.   Equity Investments•Rivers Casino Des Plaines ("Rivers Des Plaines") on March 15, 2020.•Miami Valley Gaming and Racing ("MVG") on March 14, 2020.All Other•Arlington International Racecourse ("Arlington") off track betting facilities ("OTBs") and simulcast operations on March 16, 2020.•Turfway Park conducted spectator-free live racing from March 12, 2020 through March 25, 2020 and canceled the remainder of racing dates.On March 25, 2020, as a result of the temporary closures and suspended operations described above, the Company announced the temporary furlough of employees at its wholly-owned gaming properties and certain wholly-owned racing operations.  The Company is continuing to provide health, dental, vision and life insurance benefits to furloughed employees at our wholly-owned properties.  The Company also implemented a salary reduction for all remaining non-furloughed salaried employees based on a percentage that varies dependent upon the amount of each employee’s salary.  The most senior level of executive management has received the largest salary decrease, based on both percentage and dollar amount.  The salary reductions will remain in effect until the Company begins to return to normalized operations.There have been a number of other aspects of our business that have been impacted by COVID-19 during the three months ended March 31, 2020, including the following:•The Company rescheduled the 146th Kentucky Oaks and Derby from May 1-2, 2020 to September 4-5, 2020.  •Starting in mid-February 2020, U.S. and international sporting events were cancelled, which reduced our sports betting options for our customers.•Horse racing content for wagering on our TwinSpires business ("TwinSpires") decreased, although handle increased as our customers wagered more on the content that was available.Financial Status and OutlookThe Company has temporarily reduced its planned maintenance and project capital expenditures for 2020 as a result of the temporary property and operations closures and our prioritization of capital investments based on the highest near-term return opportunities in order to maintain financial flexibility.On March 16, 2020, we borrowed $675.4 million on our revolving credit facility (the "Revolver") pursuant to the Credit Agreement (defined below) to provide the Company with additional financial flexibility, which provided the Company with $700.9 million of cash and cash equivalents as of March 31, 2020.  The Company was in compliance with all applicable covenants in the Credit Agreement at March 31, 2020.  On April 28, 2020, the Company entered into a Second Amendment to its Credit Agreement, which (i) provides for a financial covenant relief period through the date on which the Company delivers its quarterly financial statements and compliance certificate for the fiscal quarter ending June 30, 2021, subject to certain exceptions (the “Financial Covenant Relief Period”), (ii) amends the definition of “Consolidated EBITDA” in the Credit Agreement with respect to the calculation of Consolidated EBITDA for the first two fiscal quarters after the termination of the Financial Covenant Relief Period, (iii) extends certain deadlines and makes certain other amendments to the Company’s financial reporting obligations, (iv) places certain restrictions on restricted payments during the Financial Covenant Relief Period, and (v) amends the definitions of “Material Adverse Effect” and “License Revocation” in the Credit Agreement to take into consideration COVID-19.  During the Financial Covenant Relief Period, the Company will not be required to comply with its existing consolidated total secured net leverage ratio financial covenant and the interest coverage ratio financial covenant.  The Company has agreed to a minimum liquidity financial covenant that requires the Company and its restricted subsidiaries to maintain liquidity of at least $150.0 million during the Financial Covenant Relief Period.We continue to assess the situation at our properties and operations on a daily basis; however, we are unable to determine when we will be able to reopen our properties and operations and the conditions upon which we will reopen. Our second quarter of 2020 financial results will be materially impacted by the rescheduling of the Kentucky Oaks and Derby from the second quarter of 2020 to the third quarter of 2020, by the continued closure and suspended operations of our wholly-owned gaming properties and certain wholly-owned racing operations, and by the continued closure of the casino properties related to our two equity investments.  Based on our current projected operating cash flow needs, interest and debt repayments, and revised maintenance and project capital expenditures, we believe we have adequate cash for at least the next twelve months to fund our business operations, meet all of our financial commitments, and invest in key growth capital projects.Acquisitions of Presque Isle and Lady Luck Nemacolin On January 11, 2019, we completed the acquisition of Presque Isle located in Erie, Pennsylvania from Eldorado Resorts, Inc. ("ERI") for cash consideration of $178.9 million (the "Presque Isle Transaction") and $1.6 million of working capital and other purchase price adjustments.On March 8, 2019, the Company assumed management and acquired certain assets related to the management of Lady Luck Nemacolin in Farmington, Pennsylvania, from ERI for cash consideration of $100,000 (the "Lady Luck Nemacolin Transaction").  Acquisition of Certain Ownership Interests of Midwest Gaming Holdings, LLCOn March 5, 2019, the Company completed the acquisition of certain ownership interests of Midwest Gaming Holdings, LLC ("Midwest Gaming"), the parent company of Rivers Des Plaines in Des Plaines, Illinois to acquire approximately 42% of Midwest Gaming from affiliates and co-investors of Clairvest Group Inc. ("Clairvest") and members of High Plaines Gaming, LLC ("High Plaines"), an affiliate of Rush Street Gaming, LLC and Casino Investors, LLC ("Casino Investors") for cash consideration of approximately $406.6 million and $3.5 million of certain transaction costs and working capital adjustments (the "Sale Transaction").  Following the closing of the Sale Transaction, the parties completed a recapitalization transaction on March 6, 2019 (the "Recapitalization"), pursuant to which Midwest Gaming used approximately $300.0 million in proceeds from amended and extended credit facilities to redeem, on a pro rata basis, additional Midwest Gaming units held by High Plaines and Casino Investors.  As a result of the Recapitalization, the Company's ownership of Midwest Gaming increased to 61.3%.  High Plaines retained ownership of 36.0% of Midwest Gaming and Casino Investors retained ownership of 2.7% of Midwest Gaming.We also recognized a $103.2 million deferred tax liability and a corresponding increase in our investment in unconsolidated affiliates related to an entity we acquired in conjunction with our acquisition of the Clairvest ownership stake in Midwest Gaming. Refer to Note 14, Investments in and Advances to Unconsolidated Affiliates, for further information on the Midwest Gaming transactions.Turfway Park AcquisitionThe Company completed the acquisition of Turfway Park from Jack Entertainment LLC ("JACK") and Hard Rock International (“Hard Rock”) on October 9, 2019 for total consideration of $46.0 million in cash ("Turfway Park Acquisition").Turfway Park is located on 197 acres in Florence, Kentucky.  The Company has announced plans and has begun to invest up to $150.0 million (including the Turfway Park Acquisition total consideration of $46.0 million) in a state-of-the-art live and historical thoroughbred racing facility at Turfway Park.Refer to Note 4, Acquisitions, for further information on the Turfway Park Acquisition. SeasonalityChurchill DownsDue to the seasonal nature of our live racing business at Churchill Downs Racetrack, revenue and operating results for any interim quarter are generally not indicative of the revenues and operating results for the year and may not be comparable with results for the corresponding period of the previous year.  Historically, the majority of our live racing revenue occurs during the second quarter with the running of the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks.  However, as announced on March 17, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company rescheduled the 146th Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby from May 1, 2020 and May 2, 2020 to September 4, 2020 and September 5, 2020, respectively.   Online WageringDue to the seasonal nature of the racing business, revenue and operating results for any interim quarter are generally not indicative of the revenues and operating results for the year and may not be comparable with results for the corresponding period of the previous year.  Historically, our revenue is higher in the second quarter with the running of the Kentucky Derby and the Kentucky Oaks.  However, as announced on March 17, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company rescheduled the 146th Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby from May 1, 2020 and May 2, 2020 to September 4, 2020 and September 5, 2020, respectively. |

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The entire disclosure for the basis of presentation and significant accounting policies concepts. Basis of presentation describes the underlying basis used to prepare the financial statements (for example, US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, Other Comprehensive Basis of Accounting, IFRS).  Accounting policies describe all significant accounting policies of the reporting entity.
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