Kentucky Downs Files Application to Build Harness Track

[Wandering Eyes]

The ownership of Kentucky Downs has filed an application with the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission to build a Standardbred track, to be named Oak Grove Meadows, on 80 acres near the intersection of Interstate 24 and U.S. 41-A in close proximity to Fort Campbell and Clarksville, Tenn. Kentucky Downs is committing $45 million to the Oak Grove project and plans to spend an additional $25 million in a major expansion of its existing track in Franklin, Kentucky.

“We appreciate the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission opening up applications for new licenses,” said Kentucky Downs president Corey Johnsen. “For a number of years, we have been working with the Kentucky Harness Horsemen’s Association and the City of Oak Grove to fill a void in the Standardbred circuit and to create an entertainment and tourist destination in southwest Kentucky that complements existing businesses and enterprises.”

The proposed track would race 15 days from Oct. 11 to Nov. 10, 2019, with purses fueled year-round by up to 500 Exacta Systems historical horse racing (HHR) terminals. The harness track will be five-eighths of a mile with 450 stalls.

Kentucky Downs, which completed major renovations earlier this year, also plans an expansion to double the size of the main building housing its historical horse racing and simulcasting operation, as well as constructing an equestrian complex. The new space would be able to accommodate an additional 800 HHR terminals, a full-service steakhouse and sports lounge.

“We have put together a dream team of experts and are excited to share our plans with the Kentucky horse industry,” Johnsen said. “We are confident that our plans at both sites will complement each other and provide maximum revenues for the Kentucky horse industry.”

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