Churchill Downs Inc. has confirmed two sports betting license applications it filed Tuesday.
The Kentucky gambling giant has applied for retail sportsbook licenses at Turfway Park in Florence and Newport Racing & Gaming in Newport, CDI spokesperson Tonya Abeln told the Cincinnati Business Courier on Tuesday.
CDI owns Churchill Downs in Louisville, Oak Grove Racing & Gaming in Oak Grove, and Ellis Park in Henderson, in addition to Turfway Park and Newport Racing & Gaming. It also owns the historical horse racing gaming hall, Derby City Gaming, in Louisville, and is set to open a second Derby City Gaming facility in downtown Louisville later this year.
In all likelihood, CDI also applied for several other retail licenses on Tuesday, including at the main Derby City Gaming location. However, CDI did not respond to PlayKentucky‘s request for additional information for this story.
Retail applications began on Tuesday
Tuesday marked the first day horse racing associations could apply for retail Kentucky sports betting licenses, following the approval of the state’s emergency sports betting regulations on Monday.
We already knew Churchill Downs had partnered with FanDuel to give the sportsbook market access to Kentucky. What we don’t know yet is where FanDuel Kentucky will operate in a retail capacity, and which other sportsbooks CDI is partnering with for its other properties in Kentucky.
Beyond the FanDuel-Churchill Downs agreement, we also know there will be a Caesars Kentucky app thanks to Caesars Entertainment’s partnership with Keeneland and Red Mile in Lexington.
Turfway Park, Newport Racing & Gaming just minutes from Cincinnati
Cincinnati readers are likely interested in what goes on at Turfway Park and Newport Racing & Gaming due to their proximity to the Ohio border. Turfway Park is in Florence, which is 11 miles south of Cincinnati. Newport, meanwhile, is just 2 miles from Cincinnati — right across the Ohio River.
Ohio’s legal sports betting age limit is 21. However, Kentucky is an 18-plus sports betting state — meaning 18-20-year-olds can drive across the border to legally bet in Kentucky, if they want to.
In early June, Ohio Casino Control Commission Executive Director Matt Schuler lamented the fact that gamblers who are underage in Ohio will be able to so easily access legal betting in Kentucky.
“I absolutely hate the idea that individuals under 21 can go across the border, open an account and bet,” Schuler told WCPO in Cincinnati. “I think it’s horrible.”
Turfway Park offers simulcast horse race betting, as well as live thoroughbred racing and more than 800 historical horse racing gaming machines. Newport Racing & Gaming has a simulcast horse race betting facility, as well as 457 HHR machines.
