With the Chicago Cubs looking to close out the 2026 season with a bang, the team would also take a breather on Thursday and enjoy a horse race at the famous Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. As the Cubs look to make major noise in the 2026 MLB Playoffs, manager Craig Counsell spoke about the roster taking the team-building trip to Churchill Downs.

Speaking to the media on Friday before the start of the series against the Cincinnati Reds, Counsell was asked about the experience with the rest of the team at the racetrack. He expressed how it was a “fun day” for everybody to experience something they haven't before, and claimed Churchill Downs is like Wrigley Field for horse racing.

“Yeah, I mean, we just had a fun day,” Counsell said, via Marquee Sports Network. “I mean, that's the big thing, you know. Churchill Downs is a really cool place. It's a historic place, you know, much like Wrigley Field. It's kind of like the version of Wrigley Field for horse racing, and it was fun to, like, just introduce a bunch of guys on the team to a different world that they normally don't get to see, and we got to spend a lot of time together, kind of outside of baseball.”

Craig Counsell describes the @Cubs experience at Churchill Downs and called it, "a version of Wrigley Field for horse racing." 🐎 pic.twitter.com/CIHgX7HVkW

— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) September 18, 2026

Article Continues Below

According to MLB.com, the horse “Act of Parliament” was owned by star Alex Bregman and his family and won the race on Thursday, which made the event that much more celebratory.

At any rate, Bregman and Chicago look to keep the winning ways in wrapping up the 2026 season with nine games left in the season, including Friday's outing against the Reds.