(Bloomberg) -- Churchill Downs Inc. charged ahead of the pack Thursday after posting record revenues and earnings that exceeded Wall Street’s expectations in the first quarter.  

Shares of the Louisville, Kentucky-based horse racing and gaming company closed Thursday up 4.7%, their biggest one-day jump in nearly six months, to reach their highest level since Jan. 3. The move came in defiance of the broader equities market, which ended the day broadly lower, with the stock the only member of the S&P index of casino and gaming companies to finish in the green. 

Churchill reported its first-quarter earnings after the market closed on Wednesday. Revenue came in at $591 million, while adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization reached $243 million, topping its year-ago results by 9%, the company announced in a statement. Both figures were all-time highs and above analysts’ projections. Churchill said its live and historical racing machine segment, as well as its web-based horse wagering operation, TwinSpires delivered record-setting quarterly revenues and adjusted profit.

“We had a really strong quarter, and last year was a good quarter as well, so we had a pretty tough comp and the businesses still performed,” Chief Executive Officer William Carstanjen said in a phone interview on Thursday. 

Still, the shares have a long way to go to catch its Russell 3000 counterparts. Churchill’s stock has lost 4.2% in 2024, compared with the Russell 3000’s 5.1% gain.

Wall Street analysts praised Churchill’s pipeline opportunities stemming from its historical racing machine expansion projects, in addition to its acquisitions of Peninsula Pacific Entertainment and Exacta Systems. The stock has nine buy-equivalent ratings, one hold and zero sells. Its average analyst price target is about $147, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, implying a nearly 14% upside from the stock’s Thursday closing price of $129.23.

“Historical racing machines (HRMs) at race tracks, including those acquired in the Peninsula Pacific buyout, are reducing Churchill’s reliance on live races after it exited online sports bets, while smaller online-racing M&A deals buoy margins,” Brian Egger, a gaming and lodging analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence, wrote in a note.

The stock’s jump is well-timed, coming a little over a week before the Kentucky Derby, Churchill’s signature asset and the longest running continuously held annual sporting event in the US. 

“The Derby is a holiday in this region of the country and a unique, bucket list type of event,” Carstanjen said. “There’s just something in the air about this being the 150th Kentucky Derby that’s really captured people’s enthusiasm.”

(Updates with closing prices throughout.)

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