The Indiana Horse Racing Commission approved the 2013 race dates Friday morning for Hoosier Park Racing & Casino and Indiana Grand Casino and Downs.

Under a new format described as one breed, one track, Hoosier Park Racing & Casino will solely host Standardbred racing while Indiana Grand Casino and Downs will play host to Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing. Both racetracks are set to begin racing in April.

Hoosier Park Racing & Casino’s Standardbred racing meet begins Tuesday, April 2 and will conclude on Saturday, Nov. 9. The 20th season of live Standardbred racing will offer 160 days of action. Following a Tuesday through Saturday schedule, the daily post time is 5:30 p.m. The $200,000 Dan Patch Invitational Pace, Hoosier Park’s signature Standardbred event, will take place on Saturday, May 25.

The combined Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse meet will kick off on April 23 at Indiana Grand Casino and Downs and will follow a Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday schedule. The four-day racing week will have a daily post time of 6 p.m. On July 1, the Shelbyville racetrack will move to five days a week with the addition of a Monday evening racing card and continue racing through Oct. 19.

Indianapolis-based Centaur Holdings, LLC announced Wednesday the completion of the acquisition of Indiana Grand Casino and Downs in Shelbyville, Ind. The acquisition brings together two of the leading racetrack casinos in the Midwest, with the addition of Indiana Grand Casino and Downs to Centaur’s Hoosier Park Racing & Casino in Anderson.

(Hoosier Park)