Due to the recent Kentucky Supreme Court ruling, Red Mile Gaming & Racing has suspended its Historical Horse Racing operations temporarily.
“We were disappointed the Kentucky Supreme Court denied our petition for rehearing,” said Keeneland and Red Mile in a statement issued on Sunday (Jan. 24). “At this time, Keeneland and Red Mile have made the very difficult decision to temporarily close historical horse racing operations until there is more clarity surrounding the situation. We have confidence the Kentucky legislature will continue its efforts to protect jobs and state revenue generated by historical horse racing, as well as protect Kentucky’s signature horse racing industry.”
The Kentucky Supreme Court ruled on Sept. 24, 2020 that the more than 900 historical racing machines in operation between Kentucky's racetracks violated Kentucky's Constitution because the betting into the machines did not operate using pari-mutuel pools.
Red Mile's statement comes after the Supreme Court rejected an appeal to rehear its ruling. The machines, which use the Encore system, also operate at Kentucky Downs and Ellis Park, while Churchill Downs runs different machines at Derby City Gaming and Oak Grove. At this time the Supreme Court's rejection to rehear its decision has implications for the machines running at the other tracks and on Churchill Downs' properties. However, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission issued a statement on Thursday (Jan. 21) saying that it will "act in accordance with the terms of the judgement entered by the Franklin Circuit Court" as determined by the Sept. 24 decision.
Members of the Kentucky government have voiced concern over the implications of the Supreme Court's decision, with Gov. Andy Beshear showing support to make the necessary amendments to Kentucky's current law.
“If it’s going to take a legislative change, we need to make a legislative change to keep our horse industry competitive and to keep our commonwealth competitive,” Beshear said to the Courier Journal.
Red Mile will close at end of business on Sunday (Jan. 24). A reopening date has not been identified at this time.
(with files from Red Mile and Courier Journal)