Keeneland and Red Mile announced Jan. 24 that they will temporarily close their historical horse racing operations. The action comes three days after a court decision reaffirmed the need for legislative action on HHR in Kentucky.
The Kentucky Supreme Court Jan. 21 denied an Oct. 14 petition filed by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission and several of the state's tracks asking the court to reconsider its Sept. 24 opinion that determined at least one brand of HHR operating in the state is not pari-mutuel. The petition had asked the court to reconsider several of the findings on which it based its final opinion that Encore Racing Based Games' System is not pari-mutuel. The case was brought by the Family Trust Foundation of Kentucky.
"We were disappointed the Kentucky Supreme Court denied our petition for rehearing. 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," Keeneland and Red Mile said in a joint statement. "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 joint HHR operation between Red Mile and Keeneland is hosted at the former's location in Lexington.
