LOUISVILLE — Churchill Downs announced Thursday it had agreed to purchase Turfway Park in Florence, Kentucky, from Jack Ohio LLC for $46 million.
The sale won't be complete until it is approved by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, which will next meet Oct. 8.
Churchill Downs plans to demolish the existing grandstand after the 2019-2020 thoroughbred racing meet and rebuild it as Turfway Park Racing & Gaming, or New Turfway Park, a state-of-the-art live racing facility.
"We are thrilled to welcome Turfway Park to the Churchill Downs racing family," said Kevin Flanery, President of Churchill Downs Race Track, in a news release. "Our team is poised to restore Turfway to its former glory, anchored by northern Kentucky's first historical racing machine facility. The result will be a first-class racing product fueled by increasing purses that keeps high-quality horses in Kentucky year-round and appeals to horseplayers nationwide."
New Turfway Park is predicted to support up to 400 full and part-time positions and create an estimated 800 construction jobs during the building phase. The new facility will include a historical racing machine facility featuring up to 1,500 machines, a state-of-the-art clubhouse, food and beverage venues and a new inner dirt track to complement the existing race track.
