Our Mission

The objective of The Backside Learning Center is to enhance the personal and professional lives of the backside workers and their families.

Goals

To be a national model for the Thoroughbred Industry

To develop a sustainable program with sustainable income

To help build community on the backside

To bridge the communication gap between Spanish-only speakers and English-only

speakers on the backside

To create an online curriculum or educational resource so horsemen can continue their

education while they travel

Our Programming

To enhance both the professional and personal lives of the backside workers and their families, the Learning Center provides two types of programming: Foundational and Quality of Life.

To impact the professional lives of the backside workers, the Learning Center offers Foundational programming which consists of:

Groom Elite™

English Classes

Spanish Class

Computer Class and Services

GED Tutoring

Citizenship Class

75% to 80% of the population on the backside of Churchill Downs is Hispanic. These workers do not have a regular support system since most left their families in their home country. The Learning Center strives to build community among these workers by providing the Quality of Life programming which consists of:

Lending Library

Art

Guitar

Soccer

Bowling

Movie Night

Field Trips

Volunteer Income Tax Assistance

Bilingual Legal Clinics

Our History

The Backside Learning Center, previously called the Klein Family Learning Center, is an initiative of the Kentucky Derby Museum. The Board of Directors of the Museum, along with Churchill Downs, made a choice to go beyond their obvious mission in order to serve and actively participate in the civic, economic and educational opportunities of the backside workers at Churchill Downs. This initiative started with the renovation of the old racing offices, which now house The Backside Learning Center.

The Learning Center began serving the people of the backstretch in May 2004, but officially opened on June 30, 2004. The Learning Center provides services at Churchill Downs from April to November and at the Trackside Training Center from December to March.

For More Information

If you would like more information about the Backside Learning Center, contact us and we will gladly send you our brochure. You can also let us know if you would like to receive the Monthly E-Newsletter!

Educational Tours of the Learning Center
We will be offering Educational Tours of the Learning Center this year. Contact us for more information!

Community Education Informational Presentations

We would be glad to speak at a meeting for your group or organization. Contact us to schedule an informational presentation!