LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – Kentucky regulators have given Churchill Downs and Keeneland Association Inc. a license for horse races at a track they plan to build in Oak Grove, Ky.
But the $150 million project, which also includes a hotel, still needs separate approval for up to 1,500 historical racing machines, which mimic slot machines.
The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission on Friday awarded the Churchill-Keeneland joint venture a license for twelve live Standardbred racing dates beginning in October 2019, Churchill Downs said a press release.
The project also includes a 125-room hotel; a 1,200-person grandstand; an outdoor amphitheater and stage; and an equestrian center.
Oak Grove, in Christian County, is on the Kentucky-Tennessee border, just north of Clarksville, Tenn.
Churchill Downs owns 95 percent of the Churchill-Keeneland joint venture.
“This historic partnership is designed to strengthen and grow Kentucky’s signature horse racing industry and, in particular, its Standardbred racing circuit following last year’s closure of Thunder Ridge racetrack in Prestonsburg,” Churchill Downs said.
