JACK Entertainment, the owner of Turfway Park in Northern Kentucky, has reached an agreement to sell the track’s operating assets to Hard Rock International, the casino and restaurant operator, in a transaction that also includes the sale of JACK’s casino in Cincinnati, according to the parties involved. The complex deal, which includes “multiple contracts” and will need to be approved by various state and federal regulatory agencies, will keep Turfway Park under the management of a casino company that also has a stake in the Horseshoe Cincinnati, a casino just northeast of the city’s downtown that is being sold as part of the deal. That arrangement has been subject to criticism from members of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission and the state’s horsemen, who have accused JACK Entertainment of failing to install a type of slot machines at Turfway in order to protect business at the Horseshoe. Turfway Park, which provides a winter home to Kentucky horsemen through a December to March meet, has been majority owned by JACK Entertainment since 2015, though the company first purchased a minority share in 2012. The track received approval from the racing commission to install 250 historical horseracing machines in 2015, but since then, the track has not installed any machines, and track officials have scaled down an initial proposal to commit $25 million in renovations to a project to build a gambling floor within the grandstand. :: Shop for PPs, picks, DRF+ and more in our store! It was unclear on Friday morning what Hard Rock has planned for the racetrack. A spokeswoman for the company said that Hard Rock would not comment on Friday beyond the company’s release, which did not include any reference to Turfway. Marty Maline, the executive director of the Kentucky Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, said that horsemen learned of the sale Friday morning when it was announced by the parties involved. The KHBPA has been among those racing constituencies in Kentucky that have expressed concern about JACK’s management of the track, particularly its reluctance to install historical horseracing machines. Under state law, a portion of the revenue from the machines goes to purses. “It’s too early to even speculate” about Hard Rock’s plans, Maline said. “But I think everybody who reads about it might be encouraged that it’s a new day at Turfway. I’m encouraged. They’re a well-respected company.” Mark Simendinger, the vice chairman of the KHRC and a former general manager of Turfway Park, said on Friday that the racing commission would go through its normal procedures when considering a license application for Hard Rock to operate the track after the sale is approved later this year. Simendinger has been one of the harshest critics of JACK’s management of the track, and he said he looked forward to speaking with Hard Rock officials about their plans. “I can’t speak for the whole commission, but their plans for Turfway Park are going to be something that I am definitely interested in,” Simendinger said. “Not just their plans for historical horse racing, but their plans for the physical plant, their plans for the racing program. It’s been years and years of neglect there. Pick any part of it you want.” Under the terms of the sale, VICI Properties, a real-estate investment trust that enjoys special tax advantages by holding property and leasing it to operators, will purchase the land under the two facilities, while Hard Rock will purchase the “operating assets.” The management of both facilities will also be the purview of Hard Rock. JACK Entertainment, which was founded in 2009 by Dan Gilbert, a Detroit entrepreneur who owns the Cleveland Cavaliers, also owns and operates Thistledown racetrack and casino in Cleveland, which is not affected by the sale. Gilbert has been interested in selling his gambling assets for some time, according to Ohio newspaper reports.