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General Category => Harness Racing => Topic started by: gh2009 on July 28, 2025, 08:50:52 AM
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The Red Mile, Oak Grove, and Cumberland Run all have historic racing machines, the Red Mile getting them first in 2015. Does anyone know why the overnight purses at the Red Mile have never increased?
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With the Red Mile -- they split the profits with Keenland -- not sure how the contract with the track is setup.
Keenland put the money up to build casino --- at least what I got from a DRF article a few years ago.
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To some extent they have. At least for the KYSS, Breeders, etc. I'd like to see what's happened to overnight purses, other stakes, etc. I think the KY money is for KY races so to speak, so open stakes races and GC stakes may not get monies allocated. I don't know.
Last time they had a horsemen's meeting at the Red mile, and unless it's changed since then, they said the KY State law dictated that 91% of the HHR monies were returned to bettors. The "house" pays 1.5% tax on the dollars bet. The remainder goes to the tracks as well as the T-bred and standardbred development funds. There's your KYSS, breeders, etc. purses.
In 2020, there was a KY Supreme Court ruling on whether these machines were "pari-mutuel wagering" and that brought about a change in the monies and how they were distributed. I don't know the impact that had. But, it's interesting that wherever CDI purchased a track, opened a new facility for HHR's, whatever they did-----purses went up big time! Look at Turfway Park. So, to answer your question, why not the Red Mile-----at least to the extend of overnight races-----I'd like to know too!!!
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CDI owns the company that makes the HHRs--so most likely the tbreds get a bigger slice--like Turfway Park(which Churchill owns) Ellis Park and Kentucky Downs
some of that HHR money was allocated to the now existing penny breakage in Kentucky
recently the Louisiana State Supreme court had a different opinion how HHRs and slot machines are separate-which pissed off CDI and they threatened to stop racing-they settled to race one more meet while they negotiate-but if CDI doesn't get there way at Fair Grounds-most likely that track will close
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30-40k Opens at Oak Grove but only 9k at The Red Mile.