Those with a vested interest in the return of live horse racing to Michigan’s Sports Creek Raceway recently celebrated a significant victory, as it was announced this past Friday (Dec. 14) that the sale of the racetrack and facility has gone firm.

According to an article by mlive.com, Sports Creek Acquisitions Inc. and AmWest Entertainment LLC confirmed that the sale has been completed and that plans are underway to have the facility host live Thoroughbred racing in 2019.

The mlive.com piece states that seven conditions now have to be met for the track to be able to run live Thoroughbred races next year.

“We are pleased to report that our group has acquired the Sports Creek property," AmWest Chief Executive Officer Nelson E. Clemmens has told mlive.com. "We do have several more steps in the process of finalizing all of the requirements that need to be in place in order to start simulcasting as soon as possible and racing this (coming) summer. But I will say that our AmRace team is very excited for the launch of our operations there and especially for a bright future for Michigan racing.”

Although the 2019 plans for the track do not appear to involve Standardbred racing, it was reported last month that one of the requirements of the deal is that the track would have to be modified for both Thoroughbred and Standardbred racing.

(With files from mlive.com)