CDI will operate Race and Sports Books at its racetracks and Historical Racing Machine (HRM) facilities in Kentucky which include:

• Churchill Downs Racetrack: 15 sports betting kiosks, 168 sq. ft. video screen, 20 large format televisions;
• Derby City Gaming & Hotel: 15 sports betting kiosks, 300 sq. ft. video screen, 12 large format televisions;
• Ellis Park Racing & Gaming: 5 sports betting kiosks;
• Newport Racing & Gaming: 10 sports betting kiosks, 20 large format televisions;
• Oak Grove Racing, Gaming & Hotel: 20 sports betting kiosks, 300 sq. ft. video screen, 8 large format televisions;
• Turfway Park Racing & Gaming: 15 sports betting kiosks, 300 sq. ft. video screen, 16 large format televisions.

CDI's new sports betting kiosks will be located among existing bar and simulcast areas for guests to place wagers. Each of CDI's HRM venues will implement a “Bet & Jet” feature that offers guests designated parking spaces for 15 minutes in order to quickly and easily place their in-person sports wager.

“CDI is excited to bring our experience operating retail sports wagering experiences to Kentucky with many thanks to the Kentucky General Assembly, Governor Beshear, the KHRC and the Kentucky Public Protection Cabinet for their efforts in making this a reality,” said Bill Carstanjen, CEO of CDI,”

In addition to retail sports betting, the KHRC also approved temporary licenses for three online sports wagering service providers that will operate in partnership with CDI's racetracks: FanDuel, Penn Sports Interactive and Fanatics. Approved service providers can begin accepting online wagers on Thursday, Sept. 28.

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A temporary license grants up to one year of operation in the state while under continued review. With the approval of these licenses, Kentucky bettors now know the retail facilities where they can place a sports wager and which mobile applications will be licensed in the state.

“The countdown continues as we move closer to sports wagering with retail locations opening in just 16 days,” said Gov. Andy Beshear. “Thank you to the KHRC commissioners for their dedication to getting this done right and getting it done in time for the opening of the NFL season.”

“We are excited to open sports wagering on our target date as we continue working through this careful process dedicated to wagering integrity and protecting bettors in the state of Kentucky,” said KHRC Chairman Jonathan Rabinowitz.

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In addition to other roles, Jones spent more than 30 years as the owners' vice president of the Kentucky Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (HBPA), where he was instrumental in negotiating contracts for owners and trainers with racetracks. He was also chair of the Kentucky HBPA's finance committee and a legislative liaison. He was vice chair of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission (KHRC), first appointed in 1997 by Gov. Paul Patton, reappointed in 2008 by Gov. Steve Beshear, and appointed again in 2020 by Gov. Andy Beshear. Jones was also a long-time board member and secretary of the Kentucky Racing Health & Welfare Fund, which provides health resources and financial assistance to the Commonwealth's backstretch workers.

Jones was also president of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners in 1998-1999 and was a member of the American Horse Council, Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, and the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association. Last October he was selected as a member of the Horseracing Integrity & Safety Authority (HISA)'s Horsemen's Advisory Group. He was honored with the Warner Jones Award, which recognizes individuals for outstanding contributions to Kentucky racing, in 2019.

“The Kentucky horse racing and breeding industry wouldn't be in the strong position it is in today without the passion, commitment, and leadership of Frank Jones, Jr.,” said Churchill Downs CEO Bill Carstanjen. “From his meaningful contribution to the Kentucky HBPA to his impact on the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission and as past president of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners, our sport and community lost a dear friend and tremendous advocate, and we at Churchill Downs lost a valued partner. He will be greatly missed, and our thoughts are with his family and countless number of friends and colleagues during this difficult time.”

Born in Louisville in 1937, Jones attended Western Kentucky University and spent time in the U.S. Air Force. A variety of savvy business dealings, including in swimming pool equipment and supplies, led to him being nominated as an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 1989 and 1990. However, it was a chance encounter with trainer Jerry Romans, Sr. that led to his decades in the horse industry. He bought his first horse in 1968 for $1,500 and exclusively used Romans and his son, Dale, as trainers. He was leading owner at the spring meets at Churchill Downs in 1989, 1990, 1992, and 1995. The star of his stable was Tapitsfly (Tapit), who won the inaugural Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, as well as the GI Just a Game S. and GI First Lady S. Jones sold the filly in 2012 at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky November sale for $1.85 million to Katsumi Yoshida.

A number of industry leaders released statements as news spread of Jones's passing Thursday. Among them were KHRC Chairman Jonathan Rabinowitz, who said, “The passing of Frank Jones is a huge loss for not only his family and friends, but the entire horse racing industry. As a valuable member and vice-chairman of the KHRC Commission and secretary of the Kentucky Racing Health and Welfare Fund, he used his voice to elevate other horsemen, serving and providing guidance to backstretch workers who cannot afford medical assistance on their own. We have all lost a great friend who will be dearly missed.”

Jones is survived by his wife, Nancy Delony Jones, to whom he has been married four years. His first wife, Gloria Jones, passed away after 58 years of marriage. Arrangements are pending.

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“They spread like rabbits,” said Majority Floor Leader Senator Damon Thayer of the games that got their name because, when it comes to legality, they operate in a gray area. “Before you knew it they were everywhere. These were mom and pop small businesses who were basically running illegal casinos in the back rooms of their gas stations, convenience stores, bars and restaurants.”

“This was their business model,” Thayer continued. “They'd come into a state where the games were illegal but there might have been a loophole in the law of a gray area in the law that gave them enough impetus with local businesses to go in and install the machines.”

The American Gaming Association (AGA) estimated that there are 580,000 gray games machines nationwide, including 67,000 in Pennsylvania, another state where the racing industry is dependent upon revenues from legal slot machines at its racetracks. The AGA also estimated that gray machines generated $27 billion a year in revenue. In 2021, the games were banned in Virginia, another state where racing benefits from revenue generated by HHR machines.

To Thayer, a staunch supporter of horse racing, gray games were a problem that was about to get much worse as the number of the machines in the state continued to climb. Not only did he believe that the machines were illegal but he recognized the threat they posed to racing. Purses have exploded in Kentucky in recent years, in large part because of the success of Historical Horse Racing (HHR) machines. The gray games machines gave HHR players another outlet, a place to spend their gambling dollars that would be of no help to horse racing.

“On behalf of the 60,000 jobs and billions of economic activity our signature horse industry provides, I proudly vote aye,” Thayer said when casting his vote in favor of the ban.

During the 2022 fiscal year, a total of $4.5 billion was bet through HHR machines in Kentucky.

“We went through so much to get HHR legalized and the machines are very popular and have led to huge purse growth that we all predicted,” Thayer said.  “And along comes this illegal threat to pari-mutuel wagering on horse racing as well as charitable gaming and the lottery. The gray games machines were viewed as an existential threat to all forms of legalized gambling in Kentucky.”

The problem was solved on March 16 when Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear signed House Bill 594, which outlawed the machines.

“They're entirely unregulated,” Beshear said after signing the bill. “I don't believe that they were legal, yet they came into Kentucky and just set up and were taking dollars from Kentuckians and taking them out of State with zero regulation, zero taxation, zero system to help those that might develop any issues from using them for gambling.”

Despite having key politicians like Beshear and Thayer in favor of a ban, nothing came easily when it came to gray games. Just two weeks before Beshear signed the bill a plurality of lawmakers voted to table the bill. That group wanted to create a state gaming commission to regulate and tax the machines. And in 2022, the Kentucky House passed a bill to ban the machines, but it got sidetracked when the Senate amended the bill and the House would not agree to the changes. Thayer said that gray games were gaining such momentum that he feared that if they weren't banned when they were their proponents were going to find a way to make them, officially, legal.

“They wanted to go another year with the machines continuing to multiply,” Thayer said. “They knew that if they made it another year with no ban there wouldn't be much the state could do to get rid of them. There was a real sense of urgency to pass a bill.  The feeling was if there was another year of uncontrolled growth of these machines they'd be here for good. That's because the more businesses that installed the machines the more advocates they would have calling representatives and senators to convince them not to ban them.”

Gray games had their advocates, primarily from the businesses, many of whom were, as Thayer described them “mom and pop” operations, who said they could not stay in business if the revenue they received from the gray games disappeared. Thayer said the gray games operators and manufacturers had “an army of advocates” and spent heavily on lobbyists and campaign contributions.

“You had this big freewheeling group of gray game operators spending an incredible amount of money on lobbyists and campaign contributions” he said. “Of all things, they aligned with group of Southern Baptist legislators who voted against HHR who were arguing to keep the gray games going. They did so because they had people in their district who owned places where they had the gray games machines. It was a strange group of bedfellows, one of the weirder things I have ever seen.”

The bill banning gray games goes into effect July 1, at which time they will disappear from a state where the horse racing and breeding industries can usually count on support from the state's lawmakers.

“There were a lot of reasons to be against gray machines,” Thayer said. “Everyone who voted to ban the machines had different reasons for doing so. There certainly was a big group of legislators who thought it was an illegal form of gaming that was a big group that saw it as a threat to horse racing.”

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For more information, see our story from last month outlining the threat of gray machines, which made them the main focus of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Farm Managers' Club (KTFMC)'s monthly meeting.

Visit here for information stemming from when the Bill passed the Kentucky Senate.

Click for the official record of HB 594.

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“The Kentucky Thoroughbred Breeders' Incentive Fund accomplishes its mission of keeping mares and foals in our beautiful state, bolstering our billion-dollar strong equine industry, and providing more than 60,000 jobs for hardworking Kentuckians,” said Gov. Andy Beshear.

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After graduating from the University of Kentucky with dual degrees in marketing and management, Eads worked for both the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) and the Breeders' Cup LLC. She has been with the KHRC since 2008, when she joined the organization as the director of the Division of Incentives and Development. She then moved into the deputy director position in 2016.

“Jamie has done a wonderful job in leading a talented team at the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission since July of 2022 when she was named interim director,” said Beshear. “Her 15-year tenure at KHRC has prepared her to lead Kentucky horse racing into the future.”

Eads has been responsible for the administration of several popular incentive programs that have boosted the racing industry in Kentucky. She oversaw $16 million in breeder incentive funds and $47 million in state purse development funds and harness racings' Kentucky Proud Series.

“I am honored to serve Gov. Beshear and the Commonwealth, along with the members of the Commission and everyone on the KHRC team as we work together to further cement Kentucky as the world leader of breeding and racing,” said Eads.

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“This is an exciting announcement for the horse racing industry, the cities of Henderson and Owensboro, and the entire Commonwealth of Kentucky,” said Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear. “Churchill Downs has proven it has the experience, resources, and desire to reinvigorate Ellis Park into a premier racing destination and provide unmatched gaming entertainment.”

Ellis Park, located north of the Ohio River and just south of Evansville, Indiana, also features a gaming facility venue with approximately 300 historical racing machines.

“We are very enthused to welcome Ellis Park to the Churchill Downs racing family,” said Bill Carstanjen, Chief Executive Officer of CDI. “Our team is committed to building a summer meet at the 'Pea Patch' that keeps more Kentucky-bred horses and Kentucky-based trainers' in their home state while attracting top horse racing talent from across the country to the Bluegrass State each July and August.”

The closing of the transaction is contingent upon approval by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. If change of control is approved, the parties expect to close the transaction shortly thereafter.

CDI has commenced planning to make both critical investments in the Ellis Park racing infrastructure and to construct Owensboro Racing & Gaming, a track extension and entertainment venue at Owensboro's Towne Square Mall that will feature 600 HRMs, a simulcast wagering center, and multiple food and beverage offerings. Over the next year, CDI expects its total investment in Henderson and Daviess Counties to be approximately $75 million in addition to the purchase price.

“The opportunity to bring Churchill Downs to Owensboro is particularly significant to us,” said Jason Sauer, Senior Vice President of Corporate Development for CDI, “We are eager to start the work to elevate Ellis Park's reputation as a summer destination for Thoroughbred racing while delivering a premier gaming and entertainment experience to Daviess County. We look forward to sharing more exciting details about our plans in the coming days.”

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“For more than a century, horseplayers have never received a full winning dividend and today the General Assembly in Kentucky affirmed that it is beyond time to change that and respect horseplayers anywhere betting on races from Kentucky,” said Patrick Cummings, Executive Director of the Thoroughbred Idea Foundation (TIF), which has championed the cause dating back nearly four years.

“Across just the last three decades or so, approximately $1 billion has been retained from winning bets across America. The passage of HB 607 will put some of this money back in the pockets and accounts of winning bettors from future bets.'

“We are thankful for the leadership of bill's House sponsors, Representatives Adam Koenig and Al Gentry, and Senator Damon Thayer in guiding its passage.

In addition to the favorable breakage rules, HB 607 calls for taxation on pari-mutuel wagers at 1.5%, the same rate assessed on Historical Horse Racing (HHR) machines. The standardization of taxation means that bets made through and ADW by Kentucky residents will be taxed at 1.5%, up from 0.5 %.

“Horse racing must relentlessly pursue every method to make its product as competitive as possible,” said Bernick. “The market pressure on racing is stronger than ever with the rapid legalization of sports betting across the country. We hope that operators realize the importance of retaining all customers and driving their participation through the presentation of competitive racing with competitive pricing.”

HB 607 was sponsored by Representative Adam Koenig. A house committee approved the legislation Mar. 16 before referring it to the Senate for its consideration. The bill now returns to the House for concurrence, but it is expected to sail through and head to the desk of Governor Andy Beshear for his signature.

The Kentucky Equine Education Project (KEEP) released a statement Tuesday, applauding the General Assembly for the passage of HB 607.

“A tremendous amount of work went into crafting this new tax policy and KEEP is grateful to the legislators who served on the Pari-Mutuel Wagering Taxation Task Force for the time and effort they put into fully understanding the economic structure of Kentucky's horse industry,” the statement read. “We would also like to applaud Senate Majority Floor Leader Thayer and Representative Koenig for their leaderships as co-chairs of the task force. The resulting legislation was able to strike a delicate balance between increasing revenue for the state, while at the same time not arbitrarily raising tax rates in a way that would damage the economic success of the industry.

“The entire horse industry was engaged in this process and KEEP was proud to work closely with legislators to ensure that they had access to the full picture of what economic benefits the industry has on the Commonwealth.

“KEEP will continue working on behalf of Kentucky's entire horse industry and community to advocate for policies that benefit everyone within the industry's economic ecosystem. Growing the success of the industry's more than 60,000 jobs and $6.5 billion economic impact on the state benefits all Kentuckians.”

Once signed off on by Beshear, the provisions of the bill are due to take effect come August.

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The Kentucky Equine Education Project (KEEP), Kentucky's equine economic advocate, released the following statement in response:

“We thank Governor Beshear for signing Senate Bill 120 into law, which ensures the future of our equine industry while protecting thousands of local jobs. Kentuckians and the legislators who represent them have made clear that they support historical horse racing and the many benefits it brings to our communities. We are optimistic about the horse industry's road ahead and remain committed to keeping Kentucky a world-class racing destination for many years to come.”

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