It had been hoped that at yesterday’s meeting of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, the application to build a harness track along with an adjoining casino in Oak Grove would be given the green light, however that sadly turned out not to be the case.
Having spent five hours discussing the proposed project it was decided that the approval, if it was to be forthcoming was to be deferred for an additional 30 days, which is how long the companies behind the project will now have to wait to find out if they can go ahead with the project.
It is Churchill Downs, Keeneland or Caesars Entertainment that are looking to be given approval to build a new harness track and casino in Oak Grove, and if they do get the required permission and license to build the venue, they are planning on having up to 1500 gaming machines inside the casino.
Just how much income the new venue will produce is open to debate, and with three different sets of figures suggested, with the biggest income projection being submitted by Casers, that being some $1.7billion, local residents are eager for it to go ahead, as the local area will benefit from a share of the income generated.
It will now be a case of wait and see, however, it is expected that within 30 days at the next hearing the proposed harness racing track and casino will be given full approval and we will finally discover just which applicant has been awarded the required permission and license to build and operate it.
