Botched robbery at Ellis Park

The Henderson, Ky., sheriff's office on Tuesday was reviewing videotape of a failed armed robbery of a section of mutuel-wagering windows that occurred shortly after Ellis Park ran the last race of its summer meet the previous evening.

Ellis spokesman Mark Geary said six people had been sequestered at the track late Monday for questioning by law-enforcement officials and that he believed arrests were imminent, although none had been made as of early Tuesday afternoon.

According to Geary and various media reports, at least three men wearing bandanas, including one with a handgun, demanded and received money from mutuels clerks positioned on the north end of the second-floor Sky Theatre at gunpoint but eventually threw down money bags when fleeing after security was called and chaos erupted. There were no serious injuries.

According to eyewitness accounts, cars were not allowed to exit from track property for an unspecified period as security guards and police searched for the men.

Geary said it is believed the would-be robbers were wearing green Ellis Park shirts and may have been seasonal employees of the track. He said the men made off with little or no money.