Historical Horse Racing is alive and well in Kentucky with its slot machine-like play and thrilling race finishes without the need for saddles and mud. This week, one of the state’s largest gaming operators opened a new facility with hundreds of new HHR machines.
Churchill Downs opened Turfway Park in Florence. The facility is located in Northern Kentucky, just outside of Cincinnati. It features 800 new HHR machines.
Kentucky gambling law doesn’t allow casinos in the state. Therefore, HHR machines are as close to slot machines as you can in the Bluegrass State.
Additionally, Kentucky gamblers will see the arrival of The Mint Gaming Hall in Williamsburg this week. This new facility will have more than 400 HHR machines available to customers.
With the two new additions, there are nine primary HHR locations in the state. The facilities combine for more than 5,500 HHR machines.
According to figures released by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, HHR machines generated $592 million in revenue in the 2020-21 fiscal year. As a result, the state collected $102 million in taxes. The total HHR handle was $6.8 billion during the same fiscal year.
Churchill Downs spent $145 million on Turfway renovations
The HHR parlor at Turfway Park in Florence is one of many changes to the location. Churchill Downs spent more than $145 million on renovations. Those renovations also delivered a new grandstand at the Erlanger track.
Turfway Park is only a few miles south of the Ohio-Kentucky border and only minutes from two Ohio gaming facilities. In Ohio, HHR machines aren’t legal. Thus, Turfway Park could attack gamblers from the Buckeye State.
However, Kentucky gaming operators aren’t done yet. Several announced plans to add more HHR machines to the state.
In 2021, Churchill Downs announced plans to construct a 500-machine parlor called Derby City Gaming in downtown Louisville. Churchill Downs will begin construction in late 2022 and open in the spring of 2023.
In addition, when the Ashland racing facility is renovated for more than $50 million this year, 400 HHR machines will be added to the layout.
How historical horse racing works
Historical horse racing uses previously run races to determine an outcome from a consumer’s wager at a machine resembling a slot machine. Since races are simulated based on previous results, there’s no need for a track or horses. It’s like a virtual race.
As a result, HHR machines can be placed almost anywhere. The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission classifies the activity as pari-mutuel gaming because the bets are pooled and prizes are paid out instead of winnings based on odds.
The first HHR machines appeared in Kentucky in 2010, as the Kentucky horse racing industry suffered a post-recession slump it never recovered from. In 2011, following a constitutional challenge in the state supreme court, HHR expanded, topping more than 1,000 machines. It’s been growing steadily since.
Clearly, in light of the openings of expansive HHR parlors at Turfway Park and The Mint, HHR is wildly popular in a state with a long tradition of horse racing.
“It’s a feature, and it’s not going away,” said State Representative Adam Koenig, an ardent supporter of horse racing and gaming in his state.
