Tourism officials believe the horse racing facility coming to Oak Grove will be the attraction needed to bring more visitors to the area.
On Friday, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission awarded a racing license for WKY Development, LLC for a proposed $150 million economic development project to build a horse racing facility in Oak Grove that officials say will create nearly 400 direct full and part-time jobs and an estimated 800 construction jobs.
Oak Grove Tourism Executive Director Traci Cunningham believes this is a great opportunity for the City of Oak Grove, Christian County, and southern Kentucky and will be what the city needs to attract tourists.
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Cunningham says she is not sure when construction of the horse racing facility will begin, but she knows they already have Standardbred racing dates set to begin in October 2019.
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She adds the horse racing facility will be located on KY 911/Thompson Lane and U.S. 41-A.
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Once the project is completed, officials say it will feature up to 1,500 machines, a 125-room hotel with an event center, food/beverage venues, a 1,200-person seated grandstand and event space for indoor events, a 3,000-person capacity outdoor amphitheater and stage, and a state-of-the-art equestrian center including indoor and outdoor arenas.
WKY Development, LLC is a joint venture between Churchill Downs Incorporated and Keeneland Association Inc. both located in central Kentucky. The historic partnership is designed to strengthen and grow Kentucky’s signature horse racing industry and, in particular, its Standardbred racing circuit following last year’s closure of Thunder Ridge racetrack in Prestonsburg.
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