Tag: The Biz

Caesars Entertainment is raising the stakes on entertainment and gaming in Central Indiana with the official unveiling of the newly-branded Horseshoe Indianapolis Racing & Casino. The occasion was marked by a ribbon cutting ceremony today with Greg Small, Indiana Gaming Commission Executive Director, Shelbyville Mayor, Tom DeBaun and Caesars executives.

Horseshoe Indianapolis, formerly known as Indiana Grand, began a significant enhancement and expansion to the property in April 2021, bringing nearly 25,000 square feet of new gaming space, including a live World Series of Poker Room with 20 tables.

“The Horseshoe brand was founded on the commitment to making it right for the gambler, focused on service and dedicated to our guests,” said Dan Nita, Regional President of Caesars Entertainment. “We look forward to celebrating this next chapter in Central Indiana with Horseshoe.”

“Being able to link our property and services to the Horseshoe brand will enhance the gaming, racing, dining and entertainment experience for our guests,” said Steve Jarmuz, Senior Vice President and General Manager at Horseshoe Indianapolis. “The addition of the World Series of Poker Room coupled with our Caesars Race and Sportsbook gives our guests a unique menu of gaming opportunities, all located on one floor.”

New and expanded offerings at Horseshoe Indianapolis include:

• A 5,000-square-foot World Series of Poker Room featuring 20 tables
• A 20-seat video poker bar with 65” LCD overhead screens
• New table games, slots and gaming chairs
• New design elements throughout the gaming floor
• New surface parking
• Brew Brothers, a new eatery adjacent to the Caesars Sportsbook (construction to begin Feb. 2022)
• More than 100 new jobs added to the work force
• Millions in local and state gaming tax revenue

Since 1951 Horseshoe Casinos have been the home of the best odds, highest limits, and biggest jackpots. Started by a gambler for gamblers, at its heart, Horseshoe is about making a gaming experience that is right for the gambler. Over the years, as the brand expanded to markets across the country, Horseshoe has stayed true to its heritage, holding on to the thrilling spirit of no-limit betting. For more information on Horseshoe Indianapolis' offerings, please visit www.caesars.com/horseshoeindianapolis.

The post Indiana Grand Rebranded As Horseshoe Indianapolis Racing & Casino appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races has released its final 2022 live racing calendar and open stakes schedule for the coming year following approval by the West Virginia Racing Commission at its Tuesday morning meeting.

Charles Town's 2022 live racing calendar calls for 174 days of live racing, including a Wednesday through Saturday schedule in March, April and May as well as September through December with racing on Thursday, Friday and Saturday the remainder of the year. The track has already lost and rescheduled days in January due to inclement weather. Post time for all but one day on the Charles Town calendar is 7:00 P.M. EST.

Charles Town's biggest day in its 2022 schedule follows up on a format that started in 2020 and has subsequently produced two of the three largest handles in Charles Town's history, as Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races presents both of its graded stakes – the $1,000,000 Charles Town Classic (G2) and $500,000 Charles Town Oaks (G3) – on the same Friday, Aug. 26 card. The Charles Town Classic and Charles Town Oaks will headline the action on a 13-race program that gets underway with a special first post of 5:00 P.M. EST.

Run for $1,000,000 in available purse money in its first eleven editions, the Classic will jump back into seven-figure territory for the first time since local star Runnin'toluvya took the 2019 edition with the pandemic impacting available purses in both 2020 and 2021. The Oaks also received a purse increase to $500,000, matching where it stood in 2014, the first year it was run as a graded race. The three other unrestricted stakes on the Classic night undercard – the Russell Road, Misty Bennett Pink Ribbon and Robert Hilton Memorial – also received hikes to $250,000.

“We're incredibly pleased with the business results of the last two Charles Town Classic programs and look forward to ramping up the card this August,” said Charlie McIntosh, Charles Town's Director of Racing. “The lineup of racing will be very strong and with it projecting as the most lucrative card in our history, we see no reason this shouldn't also be the most anticipated.”

Charles Town's, full stakes schedule including its restricted stakes and the West Virginia Breeders' Classics XXXVI card – expected to be held on Oct. 8 – will be announced at a later date.

CHARLES TOWN 2022 OPEN STAKES SCHEDULE
Run Date	Race	Condition	Distance	Nomination Closing
August 26	$1,000,000 Charles Town Classic (G2)	3&up	1 1/8 Miles	August 5
August 26	$500,000 Charles Town Oaks (G3)	F 3YO	7 Furlongs	August 5
August 26	$250,000 Robert Hilton Memorial	3YO	7 Furlongs	August 12
August 26	$250,000 Russell Road S.	3&up	7 Furlongs	August 12
August 26	$250,000 Misty Bennett Pink Ribbon S.	F&M 3&up	7 Furlongs	August 12

The post Charles Town Classic Purse Increased To $1 Million For 2022 appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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On Tuesday morning, Seeking Alpha revealed that Churchill Downs, Inc. has entered an agreement to purchase the assets of Peninsula Pacific Entertainment Virginia and New York, as well as the operations of its Sioux City casino property, for a price of $2.5 billion. The sale includes the property of Colonial Downs Racetrack in New Kent, Va.

Colonial Downs completed a record-setting meet in 2021, featuring 21 race days and an average daily betting handle of $2,240,000. A total of $10.4 million in purse monies were distributed and average field size was a healthy 8.36 starters per race.

The Virginia Racing Commission approved Colonial Downs to expand from 21 days to 27 race days in 2022, with dates from July 11 through Sept. 7.

Also included in the Churchill Downs deal are six historical horse racing facilities in Virginia, the del Lago Resort & Casino in Waterloo, New York, and the operations of Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Sioux City, Iowa.

Churchill will also acquire the rights to Peninsula Pacific Entertainment's ongoing effort in partnership with Urban One to develop a destination casino in Richmond, Va.

Read more at Seeking Alpha.

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Clark Brewster, attorney for embattled Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, issued the following statement on Monday after the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission issued its formal disqualification of Medina Spirit from his victory in the 2021 Kentucky Derby. The ruling included a $7,500 fine and a 90-day suspension for Baffert.

We are disappointed by the Commission's ruling, but not surprised. This ruling represents an egregious departure from both the facts and the law, but the numerous public statements by KHRC officials over the last several months have made perfectly clear that Bob Baffert's fate was decided before we ever sat down for a hearing before the three stewards, one of whom is directly employed by Churchill Downs as the racing director at Turfway Park. We will appeal, and we will prevail when the facts and rules are presented to detached, neutral decisionmakers.

• The Kentucky Rules of Racing, KHRC Rule 8:020-2, regulates only “betamethasone acetate” “via IA [intra-articular joint] administration” and prohibits its use only if that injection occurred within 14 days of the
• The Kentucky Rules of Racing, Rule 8:010, Section 4, expressly permits trainers to administer ointments containing betamethasone under a rule captioned “Certain Permitted Substances,” which states that “ointments . . . and other products commonly used in the daily care of horses may be administered by a person, other than a licensed veterinarian if”: (1) The treatment does not include any drug, medication, or substance otherwise prohibited by this administrative regulation; (2) The treatment is not injected; and (3) The person is acting under the direction of a licensed trainer or veterinarian licensed to practice veterinary medicine in Kentucky and licensed by the

The outcome should have been clear. Betamethasone valerate is a permitted substance that can be administered to a horse. It was not injected. And it was administered at the direction of a veterinarian, who contemporaneously reported that treatment to a national database accessible to the KHRC prior to the Kentucky Derby. There was no rule violation.

The unrefuted and undisputed facts established at the hearing were: (1) Medina Spirit was treated with an ointment, not an injection; (2) the trace amount of betamethasone detected could not have affected the horse in any way; and (3) the trace amount of betamethasone detected could not possibly have affected the outcome of the race.

In other words, Medina Spirit would have won with or without the ointment because it was irrelevant in every way. The stewards' decision to rob Medina Spirit of a victory he earned was not in accordance with the law but instead represents biased, purposeful, and wrongful action.

Unless regulators draft and apply Rules of Racing that reflect the practical realities of caring for horses and the irrelevance of trace levels of permitted therapeutic medications, this sport will continue to suffer. Until then, Bob will continue doing the one thing that sets him apart from the KHRC, Churchill Downs, and NYRA: fighting for an honest, fair and transparent application of the rules for all the incredibly hardworking horsemen and horsewomen dedicated to our sport.

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