Racing at Ellis Park in Henderson, Ky.
Even as live horse racing in Kentucky resumed in May, a recent meeting of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund (KTDF) revealed the hit the account has taken after three months without on-track wagering and historical horse racing revenues. The Thoroughbred Daily News reported earlier this week that Ellis Park officials may be considering scrapping the track’s summer meet over a lack of funding.
Ellis has already agreed to give some of its allotted dates to Churchill Down and Keeneland, and some members of the KTDF board suggested the track did not want to run without fans in the stands and HHR parlors reopened. The industry later received news that HHR facilities would be permitted to reopen June 8. There is still not a date mapped out yet for when fans can return to the track to stimulate on-track betting handle.
“We’re working to get you a race meet. But again, if we don’t have any [revenues] at all, it’s going to be tough. With that being said, we’re very, very hopeful that come mid-June or so [the business climate is] going to break loose,” said Ellis executive Jeff Inman. “We are moving heaven and earth to have a race meet.”
All tracks are projecting that purses will be down from last year. Keeneland’s maiden special weights at its July meet will be carded at $70,000, while Kentucky Downs anticipates its maiden specials will be $90,000 — down 30 percent from last year. At the time of the meeting, Ellis officials said they were looking at purse levels of $20,000 to $25,000 for maiden specials. All those figures were generated prior to the announcement of a June 8 reopening for HHR.
Read more at Thoroughbred Daily News
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