It has been reported that the Kentucky Harness Horsemen's Association and the Red Mile have reached a seven-year deal in regard to revenue generated by Historical Racing machines.
KHHA President Bob Stewart told harnessracing.com Wednesday morning that a seven-year agreement has been reached with the Red Mile on revenue generated by the Historical Racing machines that are scheduled to go into operation next summer.
"We reached the deal and it was accepted by us last night,” said Stewart. "Hopefully now it's full speed ahead.”
The Red Mile received approval from the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission in early April to begin construction on a $25 million, 48,000-square-foot building located along the track's homestretch. Plans call for 500 Historical Racing machines, which as slot-like machines that allow bettors to wager on random races selected from a massive archive of previously-run contests.
The commission stipulated at the time of approval that state regulations called for a revenue-sharing agreement between the track and horsemen to be finalized prior to the opening of the facility.
"This is a bright spot and as a horsemen's association, we appreciate the Red Mile stepping up to the plate,” said Stewart. "We've got 24 days of racing back and then we'll go to 30 days for the next four years. I think this secures the viability of the sport in Kentucky for the future.”
Stewart added the Kentucky Standardbred Breeders Incentive Fund will separately receive three-quarters of the 1.5 percent of the tax money generated by the Historical Racing machines.
(Harnessracing.com)