The North Carolina-based Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is one of the investors in a new $55 million quarter horse racetrack and entertainment center being built in Boyd County, Kentucky.
The tribe is partnering with Revolutionary Racing of Chicago on the project, the state’s only quarter horse racetrack, which will create 200 jobs. Officials said the entertainment venue will be completed in 2024 and the racetrack in 2025. The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission awarded the ninth and final horseracing license to Revolutionary Racing last July.
Principal Chief Richard Sneed said, “Eastern Band is very interested in working in other areas much like ours that are rural and have a great deal of potential.” The tribe owns two Harrah’s Cherokee casinos in North Carolina.
Revolutionary Racing Chairman Larry Lucas added, “We’re absolutely here to make money and we believe there is an economic footprint here that has 350,000 people within 50 miles. That is enough for us to get a good return on our investment.” Lucas said the entertainment center will feature historical horse racing machines.
Scott Barber, chief executive officer at EBCI Holdings LLC, the investment arm of the Eastern Band, said investors searched for a location within an 8-hour radius from Cherokee, North Carolina. He said, “The natural landscape behind us sits on a bluff with a natural bowl. We think from a programming standpoint, we have unlimited possibilities to create outdoor festivals, concerts and all kinds of activities that we can use the track facility itself.”
The Eastern Band operators Harrah’s Cherokee in North Carolina as a tribal gaming enterprise and Caesars Indiana, just north of Louisville, Kentucky, as a commercial casino.
