Three groups seek Kentucky harness license for proposed site

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Three applications have been filed for one of two racetrack licenses still available in Kentucky, with all three groups seeking a harness license for a proposed racetrack and casino near Oak Grove on the Tennessee state line, state racing commission officials said.

Marc Guilfoil, the executive director of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, said the three groups included a partnership of Churchill Downs and Keeneland, which filed their application several weeks ago; Kentucky Downs, the racetrack-casino approximately 30 miles east of the proposed location; and Players Bluegrass Downs, a Quarter Horse track that is owned by Caesars Entertainment, a casino company.

Racing license applications were due Monday by 4:30 p.m., when racing commission business closed. The commission has a meeting scheduled for Oct. 27 in which it will approve racing dates for the 2019 calendar year, but it is so far unclear if any of the new applications will be taken up at that meeting.

“I’ll notify the chairman about the applications, and it will be up to them where they go from there,” Guilfoil said by phone shortly after the deadline.

Under Kentucky’s pari-mutuel regulations, racing license holders in Kentucky are able to operate historical racing machines, which are devices similar to slot machines that use previously run races to determine payouts to winners. The machines are already in operation at facilities owned by Churchill, Keeneland, Kentucky Downs, and Ellis Park. Though not as consistently profitable as slot machines, they have generated tens of millions of dollars annually for their operators.

The location sought by all three entities is just miles from the border with Tennessee, where gambling options are limited. It is near Fort Campbell, a large army base, and 45 minutes from Nashville. All three applications are seeking short harness meetings, Guilfoil said.

Last year, the partnership of Churchill and Keeneland submitted applications for two new licenses, including one in Oak Grove. Shortly after, the commission’s chairman, Frank Kling, said the commission was not interested in considering new licenses. Kling remains the chairman.

Churchill and Keeneland re-submitted the license application nearly four weeks ago, seeking 10 days of harness racing at Churchill’s Trackside training center in Louisville for 2019, with plans to then transfer the license to the Oak Grove location. Two weeks after the application was submitted the racing commission posted a notice on its website stating that other potential applicants had until Oct. 1 to submit their own license applications.

Kentucky Downs officials objected to the application filed by Churchill and Keeneland last year, noting that the casino at Kentucky Downs draws most of its patrons from the Nashville, Tenn., area. The Oak Grove location and Kentucky Downs are both a 45-minute drive from the Nashville city center.

Corey Johnsen, the president and a part-owner of Kentucky Downs, confirmed the track had submitted the application on Monday, but he declined to answer questions, stating that “additional details” about the proposal would become available in the future.

Gambling companies have been re-assessing the Kentucky political landscape due to the declining popularity of the current governor, Matt Bevin, a Tea Party Republican who stated at the beginning of his first term late in 2015 that he would not allow casino legislation to go forward. Kentucky’s gubernatorial election is next November.

Kentucky is also grappling with budget problems and a shortfall in pension funding for state employees, and one gubernatorial candidate has already said the approval of casino gambling could raise money for the state. In many other states, pari-mutuel licensees have been favored for casino licenses by state legislatures, and Kentucky’s unsuccessful efforts to advance casino legislation in the past have also identified racetracks as potential casino sites.