Kentucky Horse Racing Commission approves Ellis Park expansion

The 60,000 square-foot facility is expected to have 600 historical racing machines.

10/27/21

Kentucky regulators have accepted Ellis Park’s request to build a $16.7m gaming venue in Owensboro.

US.- The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission has approved Ellis Park’s request to build an off-track betting site in Owensboro. The site will be a non-contiguous extension and will have hundreds of historical horse racing machines. Ellis Park officials say the 60,000 square-foot building will be located in the Towne Square Mall development.

Tim Perkins, vice president and chief operating officer of Laguna Development Corporation and a member of the board of managers for Ellis Entertainment, a subsidiary of LDC which bought Ellis Park in 2019, laid out plans for the extension and other upgrades at Ellis Park during a videoconference with the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission.

The venture will cost a reported $16.7m. The facility is expected to have 600 historical racing machines, a simulcast betting and viewing area, and a new race and sports themed restaurant. Additionally, the new facility will feature a stadium-style race and sports themed bar and grill.

The gaming facility is expected to create about 200 jobs. Construction on the new facility is planned to begin in early 2022 with an anticipated opening date in early 2023.

“We at Ellis Entertainment are incredibly excited to bring our Quality, Value, and Service core values to a new venue in a new market in Kentucky,” said Jeffery Inman, general manager of Ellis Entertainment.

“In addition to this being a major addition to the Owensboro community, we believe the new venue will create $6m to $8m in additional purse money per year at Ellis Park, which will help improve the quality of racing for the summertime leg of the Kentucky Thoroughbred circuit.”

The 2022 meet will mark the centennial of Ellis Park. Perkins said in order to honor the anniversary, next summer’s meet will be a summer-long celebration that will involve entertainment along with promotional events.

Ellis Entertainment has invested $3.52m in Ellis Park since purchasing the track two years ago and plans to invest $14.2m for improvements and upgrades.