Churchill Downs acquires Turfway Park

Churchill Downs has reached an agreement to acquire Turfway Park, which will be demolished to build a new facility.

US.- Churchill Downs has announced that it signed a definitive agreement through its subsidiary NKYRG to acquire Turfway Park from Jack Entertainment and Hard Rock International for US$46 million in cash. The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission will host a meeting tomorrow to discuss the change of control.

Subject to the commission’s approval, Churchill Downs won’t go after a racing project in Latonia, announced early in September. If it obtains the green light from the commission, it will also withdraw its Kentucky Horse Racing Commission.

After closing the deal, Churchill Downs will start the planning of the demolition process of the existing facility. This will happen after the 2019-2020 meet. It will pave the way for a new US$150 million state-of-the-art live and historical thoroughbred racing facility.

New Turfway Park will support around 400 full and part-time positions and create approximately 800 direct construction jobs. It will also have a racing machine facility, dining options and a clubhouse, among other things.

“We are happy to welcome Turfway Park to the Churchill Downs racing family,” said Kevin Flanery, President of Churchill Downs Race Track. “Our team will restore Turfway to its former glory, anchored by northern Kentucky’s first historical racing machine facility. The result will be a first-class racing product fueled by increased purses that keeps high-quality horses in Kentucky year-round and appeals to horseplayers nationwide.”