Kentucky’s nine horse tracks and one motor speedway will be able to open brick-and-mortar sportsbooks later this year.
At the end of March, Gov. Andy Beshear legalized sports betting in Kentucky when he signed HB 551 into law.
The legislation mandated a Kentucky sports betting market by Dec. 28. But Beshear said he wants the industry ready for the first week of the 2023 NFL season. Wednesday afternoon, Churchill Downs Inc. CEO Bill Carstanjen said he believes that’s when KY sportsbooks will begin taking bets.
Only licensed horse tracks and can obtain sports wagering licenses. Per HB 551, each “track may contract with no more than three service providers at a time.” This means the state can have a maximum of 27 mobile operators plus retail locations at nine racetracks and simulcast venues.
Notably, the Bluegrass State is among a handful of states with a law permitting residents to place wagers when they turn 18.
Here is a deeper look at the venues possibly opening brick-and-mortar operations in the near future.
Churchill Downs
Location: 700 Central Ave., Louisville, KY 40208
Racetrack capacity: 170,000
Ownership: Churchill Downs Inc.
Sports betting partnership: CDI has a partnership with FanDuel, but won’t allow any of its retail sportsbooks to be branded by another company.
Churchill Downs, home of the iconic Kentucky Derby, has a head start over other operators in the state. The company owns the online wagering platform TwinSpires. Furthermore, it offers retail and online sports betting in six other states.
In addition to its main venue for thoroughbred racing, Churchill Downs also owns two facilities in the Louisville area that offer historical horse racing machines, plus several other racing venues around the state.
“We will be permitted to have up to nine retail locations and up to eight online sports betting licenses that we can potentially monetize,” Carstanjen said in a recent quarterly earnings call. “All of our HRM facilities throughout the state were designed with this possibility in mind and will be ready to offer sports betting under the regulations and timing of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission.”
Churchill Downs has horse betting partnerships with FanDuel and DraftKings. FanDuel was the official sports betting sponsor of the Kentucky Derby.
So it’s likely that FanDuel Kentucky or DraftKings Kentucky could work with Churchill Downs.
Derby City Gaming
Location: 4520 Poplar Level Rd., Louisville, KY 40213
Racetrack capacity: N/A
Ownership: Churchill Downs Inc.
Sports betting partnership: CDI has a partnership with FanDuel, but won’t allow any of its retail sportsbooks to be branded by another company.
Derby City Gaming is Churchill Downs’ historical horse racing facility. It does not have a racetrack but offers simulcast betting and a large selection of HHR machines. HHR facilities are basically Kentucky’s version of racinos.
Churchill Downs said it would bring its retail sportsbook to Derby City Gaming. CDI announced they were partnering with FanDuel, but it’s likely CDI has multiple online partners, and the details surrounding the FanDuel deal are still scant. It’s unknown if this location will be a FanDuel-branded sportsbook or if that will go to another one of CDI’s properties.
Derby City Gaming – Downtown Louisville
Locations: TBD – opening in late 2023
Racetrack capacity: N/A
Ownership: Churchill Downs Inc.
Sports betting partnership: CDI has a partnership with FanDuel, but won’t allow any of its retail sportsbooks to be branded by another company.
Churchill Downs is opening a second HHR facility in Louisville. This property, however, will be in downtown Louisville. The original Derby City Gaming is located on the city’s southern outskirts.
Turfway Park
Location: 7500 Turfway Rd., Florence, KY 41042
Racetrack capacity: 3,500
Ownership: Churchill Downs Inc.
Sports betting partnership: CDI has a partnership with FanDuel, but won’t allow any of its retail sportsbooks to be branded by another company.
Located in Florence, Turfway Park is a Churchill Downs-owned property just 10 miles from Ohio. It offers year-round simulcast horse racing and seasonal live thoroughbred racing. It has a sports bar with wall-mounted TV screens and a ticker for scores.
Turfway’s general manager told Bloodhorse the addition of sports betting “gives us something more to compete with the full casinos. We’ll have the (historical horse racing machines), the sports betting, the live racing, entertainment, and dining.”
Oak Grove Racing, Gaming & Hotel
Location: 777 Winners Way, Oak Grove, KY 42262
Racetrack capacity: 846
Ownership: Churchill Downs Inc.
Sports betting partnership: CDI has a partnership with FanDuel, but won’t allow any of its retail sportsbooks to be branded by another company.
Oak Grove is another Churchill Downs-owned property. Moreover, it is a full-fledged casino resort with a standardbred horse racing facility, historical horse racing machines, live entertainment, an on-site hotel and an RV Park.
Oak Grove opened for business in 2020 with a state-of-the-art gaming floor and a high-limit gaming room. Like other Churchill Downs facilities, it will benefit from parent company sports betting deals.
Ellis Park Racing & Gaming
Location: 3300 US Hwy 41 N, Henderson, KY 42420
Racetrack capacity: 6,000
Ownership: Churchill Downs Inc.
Sports betting partnership: CDI has a partnership with FanDuel, but won’t allow any of its retail sportsbooks to be branded by another company.
Ellis Park is a thoroughbred horse racing and simulcast wagering facility in Henderson on the Indiana border. As another Churchill Downs Inc. property, Ellis Park will benefit from the company’s partnerships with sports betting operators. It features a dirt track and a gaming center with HHR machines. A second Ellis park is opening later this year in Owensboro. It will also be eligible for a sports betting license.
Keeneland Race Course
Location: 4201 Versailles Rd., Lexington, KY 40510
Racetrack capacity: 8,799
Ownership: Keeneland Association Inc.
Sports betting partnership: Caesars Sportsbook
Keeneland is one of the most well-known racetracks in the Bluegrass State. The Lexington track opened in 1936. As a result, the location has a rich history of Kentucky horse racing.
Keeneland announced a partnership with Caesars for online sports betting.
The move ensures there will be a Caesars Sportsbook Kentucky online product. However, the track has no plans to make any drastic changes to its iconic venue when it begins to offer retail sports betting. The retail Caesars Sportsbook will be at Keeneland’s sister track, Red Mile.
Held privately by the Keeneland Association, the facility is National Historic Landmark. The grounds include a sports bar and several lounges.
“Our campus won’t look any different. We don’t want to modify Keeneland for sports gambling. That’s one thing I want to make clear,” Keeneland Director of Wagering and Development Jim Goodman told WKYT in April.
Kentucky Downs
Location: 5629 Nashville Rd., Franklin, KY 42134
Racetrack capacity: N/A, standing room
Ownership: Privately Owned
Sports betting partnership: None
Located in Franklin on the border of Tennessee, Kentucky Downs came under new ownership in 2019 when Ron Winchell and Marc Falcone purchased the thoroughbred all-turf horse racing track and simulcast racing venue.
Two years later, the two managing partners secured a three-year partnership with FanDuel to sponsor the track’s annual six-day racing during the early fall. FanDuel also become the official advance deposit wagering platform.
Cumberland Run
Location: 75 Buchanan Blvd., Corbin, KY 40701
Racetrack capacity: TBD
Ownership: Privately Owned
Sports betting partnership: None
Winchell and Falcone also own Cumberland Run. It is still under construction. Plans include a harness track, 150 HHR terminals and a restaurant. Ownership originally expected to open the track in October, but it opened in the first week of August.
The track will be managed in partnership with ECL Racing Management.
The Red Mile
Location: 1200 Red Mile Rd., Lexington, KY 40504
Racetrack capacity: 6,500
Ownership: Keeneland Association Inc.
Sports betting partnership: Caesars Sportsbook
The Red Mile also partnered with Caesars Sportsbook for retail and online sports betting. The facility features the second-oldest harness racing track in the world. Located in Lexington, The Red Mile also offers simulcast horse races and parimutuel gaming terminals.
It will have a retail Caesars Sportsbook called The Red Room.
“At Red Mile Gaming and Racing we are excited to continue introducing this historic harness track to new audiences,” Red Mile Chief Operating Officer Shannon Cobb said about the Caesars deal. “Opportunities with sports wagering on site, added to live racing, simulcasting, and HHR Games accomplish goals we have worked toward for several years.”
Sandy’s Racing & Gaming
Location: TBD in Ashland, KY
Racetrack capacity: TBD
Ownership: Revolutionary Racing Kentucky & The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians
Sports betting partnership: BetMGM
This facility is not open yet. Furthermore, it won’t be open when Kentucky sports betting launches. Ownership expects the track to open some time in 2024. However, the sportsbook and HHR machines are on track to open in October 2023.
In August, the company announced a partnership with BetMGM. Like the Caesars-Keeneland deal, the agreement means a BetMGM-branded retail sportsbook will be at Sandy’s. Additionally, it gives the Las Vegas-based gaming giant access to the Kentucky market.
When it opens, Revolutionary Racing will offer quarter horse competitions on a 660-yard sprint track. Revolutionary Racing Kentucky invested $55 million to construct the facility, which will house a gaming center and an equestrian center and provide an estimated 200 jobs.
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians are also investors in the project. Revolutionary Racing’s Sandy Ridge track will be the only one dedicated to quarter horse racing in the state.
The Mint Gaming Hall
Location: 2475 Scottsville Rd. Ste. 101 & 102, Bowling Green, KY 42104
Racetrack capacity: N/A
Ownership: Kentucky Racing Acquisition, LLC.
Sports betting partnership: None
The Mint Gaming Hall is an HHR facility in Bowling Green. It is one of three Mint Gaming Hall locations in the state. It features 449 HHR machines to go with its simulcast betting options and is the only Mint Gaming Hall location eligible for a retail sports betting license.
Newport Racing & Gaming
Location: 1723 Monmouth St., Newport, KY 41071
Racetrack capacity: N/A
Ownership: Churchill Downs Inc.
Sports betting partnership: CDI has a partnership with FanDuel, but won’t allow any of its retail sportsbooks to be branded by another company.
Newport Racing & Gaming is another CDI-owned HHR and simulcast facility. It is one of the eight CDI properties eligible for a retail sports betting license. We know CDI has a partnership with FanDuel, but outside of their plans to put a sportsbook at Derby City Gaming, we don’t know much about their plans yet.
However, since this is one of their non-Louisville properties, it’s likely a facility that applies for a license and announces a partnership with a major online operator.
Kentucky Speedway
Update: After the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission July 10 special meeting, the KHRC confirmed with PlayKentucky that the Kentucky Speedway is not an eligible venue for a sports betting operator license. Originally, it was widely believed that the former NASCAR venue was eligible to host a brick-and-mortar sportsbook. However, during the meeting, regulators said that any venue with a sportsbook must be licensed by a racing association. The Kentucky Speedway does not fit those qualifications.
Location: 1 Speedway Dr., Sparta, KY 41086
Racetrack capacity: 69,000-107,000 (depending on configuration)
Ownership: Speedway Motorsports Inc.
Sports betting partnership: Ineligible
While the Kentucky Speedway in Sparta can offer sports betting, the facility is inactive. Instead, it serves as a storage facility for semi-truck trailers. Additionally, the track is available for rent for corporate and motorsports events.
NASCAR held races at the track just a few years ago. But the company removed the speedway from its 2021 race schedule.
