Demolition of Turfway Park Grandstand Begins

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Demolition of Turfway Park Grandstand Begins
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Photo: Chip Bach
Destruction of the grandstand at Turfway Park

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought work across a large portion of the country to a halt, but not the reconstruction of Turfway Park.

On April 23, the Northern Kentucky track began demolition of its tired grandstand, first built in 1959, to pave the way for a new facility that will incorporate 1,500 slot-like historical horse racing terminals. Turfway's owner, Churchill Downs Inc., has pledged a $100 million investment toward the new facility on top of the $46 million it paid for the track last year.

The grandstand will be torn down gradually, rather than an implosion, which Turfway general manager Chip Bach called fortuitous because horses are still training there. Though racing ended in late March, the track has allowed horsemen to remain on its backside due to a number of other track stable areas delaying spring openings because of COVID-19.

"We thought the horses would be gone by now," Bach said. "And so this obviously is a little more managed, a little longer duration. We made sure this didn't bother the horses or anything. After day one, everything seemed to go well."

Weeks before the demolition, which started past training hours just after 9 a.m. ET, construction crews removed components of the facility, including some of its windows, trainer George Bush said.

CDI's capital investments, set for completion in the summer of 2021, will also include a Tapeta surface, which will replace the Polytrack there. No timetable for the track surface project has been finalized, Bach said.