How Kentucky racinos work without slot machines
Kentucky racinos are racetracks that added rooms of historical racing terminals instead of slots. Each machine is legally a betting window: the stake goes into pari-mutuel pools, the system replays a race that has already been run, and the finish decides the payout. The screen shows reels and bonus rounds, but those graphics only display a result the race settled.
That legal form explains the rules a visitor notices. There are no live dealer tables, because Kentucky does not permit them. Machines can only sit at a licensed racetrack or at a satellite hall attached to one, and the halls double as simulcast betting rooms. Electronic roulette has appeared at several Churchill Downs properties, alongside the racing machines.
For a longer explanation of the game, its origins in Arkansas and the states that now allow it, see the historical horse racing guide. The broader idea of a track with a gaming floor is covered in what is a racino, which compares Kentucky with the slot-based racinos found across the Ohio River in Indiana and Ohio.
Every Kentucky historical horse racing track and satellite hall
Kentucky historical horse racing is spread across fourteen rooms. Seven tracks host machines on site, and seven satellite halls operate under the license of one of those tracks or of Churchill Downs. Machine counts below come from the state’s September 2026 revenue report for Churchill Downs properties, and from operator figures elsewhere.
| Venue | City | Racing | Gaming |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kentucky Downs | Franklin | Thoroughbred (turf), late Aug–Sep | 1,300+ machines, Circa Sports |
| Ellis Park | Henderson | Thoroughbred, Jul–Aug | 286 machines |
| Oak Grove | Oak Grove | Harness, Mar–Jul | 1,222 machines, hotel |
| Cumberland Run | Corbin | Harness, Oct–Nov | Historical racing machines |
| The Red Mile | Lexington | Harness, Jul–Oct | Gaming room run with Keeneland |
| Turfway Park | Florence | Thoroughbred, Dec–Mar | 776 machines |
| Sandy’s Racing & Gaming | Ashland | Quarter horse (Sandy Ridge), from Aug 2026 | 675 machines at opening |
| Derby City Gaming | Louisville | Satellite, Churchill Downs license | 1,247 machines, hotel |
| Derby City Gaming Downtown | Louisville | Satellite, Churchill Downs license | 382 machines |
| Newport Racing & Gaming | Newport | Satellite of Turfway Park | 451 machines |
| Owensboro Racing & Gaming | Owensboro | Satellite of Ellis Park | 592 machines |
| Marshall Yards Racing & Gaming | Calvert City | Satellite of Oak Grove | 223 machines |
| The Mint Gaming Hall Bowling Green | Bowling Green | Satellite of Kentucky Downs | Nearly 500 machines |
| The Mint Gaming Hall Cumberland | Williamsburg | Satellite of Cumberland Run | Historical racing machines |
The tracks, one by one
Kentucky Downs on the Tennessee line runs a seven-day turf meet worth $37 million in 2026 and was the first venue with machines, in 2011. Ellis Park in Henderson, owned by Churchill Downs since 2022, races thoroughbreds from early July to late August on Kentucky land that sits north of the Ohio River.
Oak Grove, off Interstate 24 near Fort Campbell and Clarksville, Tennessee, opened its gaming floor in September 2020 and adds a 128-room hotel, a steakhouse and an amphitheater to its spring harness meet. Cumberland Run in Corbin opened in October 2023 as the first track in southeastern Kentucky and closes the harness season each autumn.
The Red Mile in Lexington dates to 1875, opened its gaming room with Keeneland in 2015 and hosts the Kentucky Futurity. Turfway Park in Florence opened a new grandstand and gaming floor in 2022 under Churchill Downs. Sandy’s near Ashland opened its hall in 2023, and its Sandy Ridge track ran its first quarter horse card on August 19, 2026.
The satellite halls
Derby City Gaming opened in September 2018 on the old Louisville Downs harness site and is the state’s top earner, with a hotel for guests 21 and older. Its downtown sibling is smaller. Newport Racing & Gaming serves northern Kentucky and the Cincinnati market across the river, while Owensboro Racing & Gaming, a $100 million building, supports Ellis Park.
Marshall Yards opened on February 25, 2026, at the junction of I-24 and I-69, as the eighth Churchill Downs gaming venue in Kentucky. The Mint halls in Bowling Green and Williamsburg belong to the Kentucky Downs group; Bowling Green adds DraftKings sports betting and Topgolf Swing Suites, and Williamsburg opened in September 2022 with 450 terminals.
The 2021 law that saved Kentucky historical horse racing
The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission changed its definition of pari-mutuel wagering in July 2010 to allow the machines, and a court approved the rule that December. Opponents appealed. In 2014 the Kentucky Supreme Court said the commission could license such wagering but sent the case back to test whether the machines truly met the definition.
That question came back in September 2020, when the court ruled that one widely used system was not pari-mutuel. With rehearing denied in January 2021 and The Red Mile briefly closing its room, the General Assembly passed SB 120 in February 2021 to redefine pari-mutuel wagering in statute. New tracks and satellite halls followed within two years.
Machines, revenue and where the money goes
Kentucky historical horse racing revenue reached about $95 million statewide in the September 2026 report, up 4.1 percent on a year earlier. Derby City Gaming took $18.3 million and Oak Grove $15.7 million, with Marshall Yards adding $1.4 million in its first months of operation. Per-machine takings ranged from $143 a day downtown to $473 at Derby City.
That revenue matters because a share of every machine wager flows to purses and the breeding industry. It underpins the $37 million Kentucky Downs meet, record stakes money at Ellis Park and Oak Grove’s new $500,000 Trotting Derby. Legislators who opened Cumberland Run pointed to the machines as the reason Kentucky was building tracks while other states closed them.
Kentucky racing calendar at a glance
- December to March: Turfway Park thoroughbred meets.
- Late March to mid-July: Oak Grove harness racing, mostly Mondays and Tuesdays.
- July to August: Ellis Park thoroughbreds, Fridays to Sundays.
- Late July to October: The Red Mile harness meet and Grand Circuit, including the Kentucky Futurity.
- August to September: Kentucky Downs turf meet and the Sandy Ridge quarter horse meet.
- October to November: Cumberland Run harness racing.
Keeneland and Churchill Downs race without machines on site, and their spring and fall meets fill the gaps in this calendar, even though both companies share in Kentucky historical horse racing through partner tracks and satellite halls. Dates for every track are on the racing schedule; the racinos near me page finds the closest venues.
Neighboring states
Kentucky’s model has been copied most closely in Virginia, where Colonial Downs and the Rosie’s halls run the same kind of machines under a 2018 law. To the north, Indiana and Ohio allow real slot machines at their tracks, and West Virginia adds full table games at its four racetrack casinos.