Saratoga Casino and Hospitality Group completed earlier this week that the buy of the Ellis Park thoroughbred racetrack, officials at the gaming and hospitality company have confirmed.
The racetrack and simulcast venue can be found at Henderson, Kentucky, not far of the state’s border with Indiana. Ellis Park was created in 1922 and is one of Kentucky’s historic race course possessions.
Saratoga Casino formerly owned a 30% stake in the property and many recently bought the staying 70% stake for an undisclosed amount. The company purchased its first stake in Ellis Park at 2012 from local businessman Ron Geary. As he told local press outlets, Mr. Geary was invited by his family to sell his possession at the racetrack and “slow down” a bit.
The businessman bought the property from 2006. Commenting on the recent completion of the deal, Mr. Geary said they have had “some great successes” with Ellis Park and that he had been convinced Saratoga Casino would continue that progress.
The racetrack’s new owner said that there would be no direction changes at the property for now. The group, which is a subsidiary of Saratoga Harness Racing Inc., delivered executives at Ellis Park earlier this month to investigate the potential areas where improvement would be needed and also to craft a plan for the overall enhancement of patrons’ experience.
While lawmakers gave the legalization of sports gambling some thought in the weeks after a long-running ban on the supply of the type of gaming service was struck down by the US Supreme Court, it appears that Kentucky bettors would not be in a position to bet money on sports events this past year.
A sports gambling bill surfaced at the Kentucky Legislature in June, but it is set to be considered next year. It was just pre-filed and is set to be introduced formally in the Senate during the upcoming legislative session. Generally speaking, the bill calls for the legalization and regulation of sport gambling, allowing gambling on professional and collegiate sporting events.
Under the proposed legislations, accredited operators will probably have to cover a $250,000 yearly license fee plus a 3% tax on manage (turnover). The invoice does not include things like ethics fees, which major US sports leagues are lobbying for.
Together with the legislative part being slated to be tabled for consideration throughout the Legislature’s next session, it is not likely that sports gambling will get legalized prior to the first half of 2019. And according to industry analysts, it is not likely that Kentucky bettors would have the capability to place bets before early in 2020.
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