LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Churchill Downs is expanding its reach into northern Kentucky with the purchase of Turfway Park.
Thursday, Churchill Downs, Inc. announced a deal to acquire the track in Florence for $46 million from Jack Ohio LLC, which is owned in part by Hard Rock International.
CDI has plans to build a state-of-the-art live and historical thoroughbred racing facility, which would be renamed Turfway Park Racing & Gaming. The new facility would have 1,500 machines and food and beverage venues. The agreement still has to be approved by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, which meets Oct. 8. If approved, Churchill Downs will drop its plans for its New Latonia Racing & Gaming project in northern Kentucky.
Future plans for Turfway include demolishing the existing grandstand and replacing it with a new clubhouse. An inner dirt track would be added to the existing one-mile synthetic main track. The project could bring up to 400 full and part time jobs and an estimated 800 construction jobs, a CDI statement said.
“Our team is poised to restore Turfway to its former glory, anchored by northern Kentucky’s first historical racing machine facility. The result will be a first-class racing product fueled by increased purses that keeps high-quality horses in Kentucky year-round and appeals to horseplayers nationwide," said Kevin Flanery, President of Churchill Downs Race Track, in a statement.
CDI plans to keep the previously announced racing dates in Dec. 2019 and the schedule of dates for 2020 for Turfway.
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