Former Colonial Downs owner seeks Kentucky racing license to build Quarter Horse track
LEXINGTON, KY. – A racetrack and casino company that re-opened Colonial Downs in Virginia has submitted an application for the last racetrack license in Kentucky, with designs of opening a Quarter Horse track and casino on the eastern border of the state.
The company, Revolutionary Racing, gave a presentation about its plans for the track and casino at a Tuesday meeting of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, which must evaluate and approve all license applications in the state. Under state law, racetrack license-holders are the only companies that are allowed to operate slot machine-like devices known as historical horse racing machines.
Larry Lucas, one of the founders of Revolutionary Racing, told the commission that the group planned to spend $55 million on the facility. He said that operating a Quarter Horse track would avoid competition with tracks on the state’s yearlong Thoroughbred circuit. There are limited opportunities for Quarter Horse racing east of the Mississippi.
Although officials did not have a firm answer as to how many race dates the track would conduct, the officials said that the track planned to offer $500,000 a day in purses. Purses would be subsidized by the casino operation.
Prentice Salter, another founder of Revolutionary Racing, told the commission that the company’s “first priority has always been, first and foremost, to build first-class facilities.” He told the commission that the company is projecting $500 million in annual handle through the casino operation.
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Jonathan Rabinowitz, the chairman of the KHRC, said that the commission is “just about to begin the due-diligence process” to evaluate the company’s application. The company has already provided supplemental information to the initial application, Rabinowitz said.
Revolutionary Racing bought Colonial Downs for $20 million in 2018 in partnership with the company Peninsula Pacific and then lobbied successfully for legislation allowing the track and its OTBs to operate historical horse racing machines. Peninsula Pacific eventually acquired all of the interests in the Virginia properties and early this year, Churchill Downs Inc. reached a deal to buy nearly all of Peninsula Pacific’s assets for $2.5 billion, including several large casinos, Colonial, and its OTBs.
The proposed location of the track is in Ashland, which is near the borders of both West Virginia and Ohio.