Keeneland-Red Mile Historical Racing a Hit

Historical wagering at the Red Mile in Lexington, conducted in partnership with Keeneland, enjoyed a fast start in its initial months of operation in 2015.

According to 2015 handle numbers presented to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission at its regular meeting Feb. 19 at the Kentucky Horse Park, historical horse racing handle in less than three months at the Red Mile reached $41.5 million. The new facility opened Sept. 8.

For comparison, the Ellis Park historical racing operation saw $60.1 million in handle for its 12 months of operation in 2015 while Kentucky Downs handled $349.6 million. In December, Keeneland-Red Mile saw $13.9 million in historical racing handle compared with $5.6 million at Ellis Park and $34.9 million at Kentucky Downs.

Historical racing features machines that look like slot machines but base payouts on a pari-mutuel formula.

KHRC director of pari-mutuel wagering Greg Lamb said that in terms of average daily handle Keeneland-Red Mile enjoyed a faster start than Kentucky Downs, which opened the state's first historical gaming facility in September 2011 and has handled more than $1.1 billion in historical racing wagers since that launch.

In less than three months of operation, handle on Keeneland-Red Mile historical racing generated $364,062 for purses.

Fueled in part by the new historical racing facility, as well as handle increases at the other two facilities, wagering on historical racing in Kentucky increased 23.5% in 2015 to $451.1 million. Besides the added money from Keeneland-Red Mile, Kentucky Downs enjoyed a 7.4% increase in handle while Ellis Park was up 51.7%. That $451.1 million in handle will generate $4.1 million for Kentucky purses.

With historical racing sites enjoying success in the state, during the executive session Friday the commission was updated on continuing litigation that challenges the legality of the wagering form. 

With new governor Matt Bevin in place, the KHRC is in transition. KHRC vice chairman Tracy Farmer oversaw Friday's meeting as Bob Beck resigned as chairman in December and a new chair has not been named. Lexington-based bloodstock agent David Ingordo was sworn in as a new commissioner Friday. 

The KHRC staff also has seen some changes as Marc Guilfoil was named executive director in January, replacing John Ward who resigned last month.

KHRC equine medical director Mary Scollay presented the veterinary update during Friday's meeting as the state's chief veterinarian Will Farmer was dismissed by Bevin earlier this month. Guilfoil said commission veterinarians are non-merit positions who serve at the pleasure of the governor.

Guilfoil said Bruce Howard, who has served as a KHRC vet for more than five years, has been named new chief veterinarian. John Taormina, who has previously worked for the KHRC on a part-time basis, has been hired to fill the open spot. 

Guilfoil predicted that Farmer would not be without a job in the industry for long. During his tenure as chief veterinarian in Kentucky, which began in 2012 when Bryce Peckham resigned from the position, Kentucky registered impressive equine safety numbers. In 2014 Kentucky registered its safest year on record in terms of both number of equine breakdowns in races and rate of equine breakdowns in races since the state began tracking the numbers in 2007.

Those record numbers came up a bit in 2015 but were still well below national averages.