WKY Development LLC–a joint venture between Churchill Downs Incorporated (CDI) and Keeneland Association Inc.–was awarded a racing license by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC) during a Friday meeting. Under the terms of the license, WKY Development will be permitted to conduct 12 live Standardbred racing dates beginning in October 2019 at its proposed racing venue to be constructed in Oak Grove in Christian County, Kentucky.
In addition to harness racing, the facility is expected to include a historical racing machine area with up to 1,500 machines, a 125-room hotel and event center, a 1,200-seat grandstand, a 3,000-seat outdoor amphitheater and an equestrian center with both indoor and outdoor arenas. According to WKY, the proposed facility represents a $150-million economic development project for Christian County and will create nearly 400 direct full and part-time jobs in addition to an estimated 800 construction jobs.
WKY Development, owned 95% by CDI and 5% by Keeneland, launched with the stated goal of growing the horse racing industry in Kentucky and reinvigorating the Standardbred sector by creating new racing opportunities in the state.
Kentucky Downs, which was purchased just this week by Ron Winchell and Mark Falcone, was also competing for this license.
“We came into the process obviously very late,” Winchell said. “We were really trying to persuade people to give us more time. This decision, we felt, was very important and needed more time, the processing to be more well thought out. We're obviously very disappointed in the result. We're happy and excited about what's going on at Kentucky Downs and looking forward to the future.”
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