Churchill Downs has appointed Ulysses Lee "Junior" Bridgeman, a former University of Louisville and Milwaukee Bucks basketball player and founder of Bridgeman Foods, to the race track's board of directors.

Bridgeman will serve on the 11-member board until the 2013 annual meeting, when he will be nominated for election by the shareholders.

Bridgeman also is on the board of Fifth Third Bank, the West End School, Meijer, the PGA Foundation and the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. He is a past chairman of the U of L board of trustees.

Louisville-based Bridgeman Foods is listed as one of the top 10 black-owned businesses in the country, with hundreds of fast-food restaurants, including Wendy's, Chili's, Fazoli's and Perkins franchises.