The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission recently approved a “racetrack extension” allowing Churchill Downs and a group of investors to offer parimutuel wagering and simulcast betting at the Louisville Thoroughbred Society, a private club under construction in downtown Louisville. The club will allow the newly formed company to “improve access to simulcast wagering to horseracing fans who live and work near the downtown area of Louisville on a year-round basis,” Churchill officials said.
Located in the Hughes Building at 209 East Main Street, the club will offer up to 12 self-service parimutuel wagering machines. The venue will lease space to Churchill, which will serve as the licensee for live gambling at the property.
Louisville businessmen Gene McLean, Dave Steinbrecher and Mike Schnell, owners and developers of the Louisville Thoroughbred Society, purchased the building in 2016 for $2.6 million. McLean said the new venue will offer race fans a year-round facility where they can socialize and watch races when Churchill isn’t racing. “If there’s anywhere in the world where there should be a downtown place for horseracing, it’s Louisville,” McLean said, adding he envisions “a Millionaire’s Row without the racetrack.”
Churchill Downs Racetrack President Kevin Flanery said, “This is an exciting partnership with a team that is passionate about seeing horseracing thrive in Kentucky. We are pleased to provide additional opportunities for fans to wager and look forward to seeing how the product is embraced by the locals.”
Racing commission member Mark Simendinger, vice president of Kentucky Speedway, said, “Anything that promotes horse racing, I’m for it. I think it’s going to be done in a very high-quality way.”
Club memberships will cost $1,595 a year with a $525 initiation fee. The club will feature indoor and outdoor bars and a rooftop cigar bar. Handicapping seminars, contests and parties leading up to the Kentucky Derby, the Breeders’ Cup and other big racing events in Kentucky “and throughout the world” also will be offered, according to its website.
McLean said since the building is on the historic registry, it’s taking longer than anticipated to gain approvals for various modifications. He noted the recent rainy weather also delayed the start of construction of an attached parking garage. The anticipated completion date now is early 2020, McLean said, just in time for Triple Crown races starting with the Kentucky Derby in Louisville.
McLean and Schnell, a principal in Schnell Contracting Inc., have owned horses together for several years. Steinbrecher is an owner of Louisville-based Derek Engineering Inc.
