The announcement capped a whirlwind couple of days for Ellis Park officials. On Wednesday, during a meeting of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund (KTDF) Advisory Committee, Ellis Park General Manager Jeff Inman told state racing officials he and others at the Henderson track were \u201cmoving heaven and earth\u201d to run the summer meet, which is scheduled to start June 28. He also told them the track needed to have a reliable revenue source, such as HHR or on-track betting.<\/p>\n
A day later, Inman and his staff held an impromptu meeting immediately after the governor\u2019s announcement to make sure they would be ready to open up on Monday.<\/p>\n
We have always said that we intend to run this race meet,\u201d Inman told Casino.org<\/em>. \u201cWe can breathe easier now that this decision has been made by the governor.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\nEllis Park has more than 300 HHR machines, and Inman said his manager has worked out a spacing plan that will allow the track to operate about 140 of the machines and still meet social distancing guidelines.<\/p>\n
The revenue generated from HHR will not provide an immediate boost to either track\u2019s purses for their upcoming meets. However, it will help with Keeneland\u2019s fall meet in October and Ellis\u2019 2021 meet.<\/p>\n
HHR Provides “Bang for the Buck”<\/h2>\n
The decision to open HHR venues this soon is surprising, in that Beshear\u2019s COVID-19 reopening strategy for Kentucky has typically erred on the side of caution. Bars in the state are scheduled to open at limited capacity on June 29, and HHR parlors were not previously mentioned on lists of businesses set to open in the weeks ahead.<\/p>\n
Last week, after the tracks submitted their plan to his office, Beshear declined to comment on it other than to say he had it.<\/p>\n
However, the decision did come just a day after the KTDF meeting, where members discussed a letter they were drafting to the KHRC board to urge them to advocate for the industry to state government officials and lobby for fans to attend races and HHR parlors to reopen.<\/p>\n
The KTDF uses funding from HHR and on-track wagering to supplement purses for in-state owners and horses bred in Kentucky.<\/p>\n
“To me, what we really need to get online is HHR, frankly,” <\/strong>said KTDF Board Member David Richardson, a horse owner. “That’s where we’re going to get more bang for the buck.”<\/strong><\/p>\nAnd KHRC reports show the 2020 fiscal year has been strong for HHR, even with the parlors closed since mid-March.<\/p>\n
Through April, more than $2 billion has been wagered at HHR parlors, up from $1.6 billion the year prior. While there are nearly 300 more machines than there were in 2019, the average daily handle for HHR in the state is approaching $8 million, or about $2.4 million more than the 2019 average. That has led to the development fund receiving $14.1 million for the year, upwards of $3 million more than the fund received through April 2019.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In a somewhat surprising development, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear announced on Thursday that the state\u2019s four historical horse racing (HHR) parlors will be allowed to reopen Monday. Representatives from Churchill Downs, Keeneland\/Red Mile, Ellis Park, and Kentucky Downs submitted a plan to the governor\u2019s office last week detailing how they would implement social distancing policies […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":137804,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14577,61],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Gov. Beshear OKs Kentucky Instant Racing Parlors to Reopen Monday<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n