Ellis Park racing schedule for the summer meet
The Ellis Park racing schedule has one meet a year, built around the hottest weeks of summer. In 2026 it opened with a Thursday-to-Sunday block over the Fourth of July holiday, then switched to Friday, Saturday and Sunday racing until closing day on August 23. Cards begin before noon Central time, and every race is shown on FanDuel TV.
The stakes calendar is the richest in the track’s history: 18 races worth $4.125 million, boosted by the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund. The Dade Park Dash and the Pea Patch, both turf sprints for three-year-olds, open the series on July 4 and 5. The Jeff Hall Memorial and the Twin Bridges follow on July 18 and 19.
Key dates on the 2026 racing schedule
- August 1–2, Summer Showcase: seven turf stakes worth $1.75 million, including the Hummingbird, Green River Island, Pucker Up and Tri-State Turf Sprint.
- August 9, Derby Day: the $400,000 Ellis Park Derby, the Groupie Doll, the Ellis Park Juvenile and Debutante, the Audubon Oaks and the R.A. “Cowboy” Jones Memorial.
- August 23, closing day: the Ellis Park Turf for fillies and mares.
The track: dirt, turf and the old Pea Patch
The main dirt oval measures a mile and an eighth, and a one-mile turf course was added inside it in 1993. Most dirt routes are run at one mile out of a chute, while turf sprints go five and a half furlongs. An infield soybean crop gave the track its nickname, the Pea Patch, until it was removed for drainage.
Handicappers at the 2025 meet found a strong inside bias on turf routes, where posts one to three won 56 percent of races. On dirt sprints, closers won only seven of 101 races. The wagering menu includes a 20-cent Dade Park Pick 6, at least two 50-cent Pick 5s and a $3 all-turf Pick 3, each with 15 percent takeout.
Gaming at Ellis Park
The gaming room holds about 300 historical horse racing machines. Each play is a pari-mutuel bet on a replayed, anonymous past race. Electronic roulette has been added too, while live table games are not legal in Kentucky. Doors open at 8 or 10 a.m. and close at 3 a.m., or 5 a.m. from Thursday to Saturday.
Ellis Park’s gaming is modest next to the large Churchill Downs halls; the state’s September 2026 report put Ellis at $2.3 million for the month across 286 machines. Sports betting is available on site, and the Owensboro property under the same license carries a full retail sportsbook. Guests must be 21 or older to enter the gaming floor.
Food, comfort and a day at the races
Two counters handle food on site: the Pea Patch Deli and the Dade Park Grill. Both are casual counters meant for a quick bite between races. Hours follow the racing and gaming schedule and can change from one day to the next, so visitors planning a meal can check the track’s own pages before the trip.
Ellis Park leans into family days during the meet, including dachshund and corgi races and Sunday dollar days. The paddock is small, which puts visitors close to the horses before each race. For a sit-down meal, Owensboro’s barbecue houses, including Moonlite Bar-B-Q Inn and Old Hickory Bar-B-Que, are about 25 miles east along the river.
Getting to Ellis Park
The address is 3300 U.S. 41 North, Henderson. From Louisville or Lexington, drivers take Interstate 64 west across southern Indiana, then Interstate 69 south past Evansville, leaving at U.S. 41 and continuing south for under a mile. From western Kentucky, parkways feed into I-69 north, and the entrance is just after the Ohio River bridge.
Ellis Park history and owners
The Green River Jockey Club built the track in 1922, and it was Dade Park when Rockport businessman James C. Ellis bought it in 1925. It took his name in 1954. Churchill Downs owned it from 1998 to 2006, then Ron Geary until Laguna Development’s Ellis Entertainment bought it in 2019. Churchill Downs returned as owner in 2022.
Instant racing machines, an early form of historical racing terminal, arrived in 2012, partly funded when Geary sold a 30 percent stake to Saratoga Casino and Raceway. Under Churchill Downs the license also covers Owensboro Racing & Gaming, a $100 million satellite with about 600 machines. Other company properties in Kentucky include Oak Grove and Turfway Park.
Nearby tracks in Kentucky and Indiana
The next thoroughbred stop on the Kentucky calendar is Kentucky Downs, whose turf meet starts days after Ellis closes. Across the river in Indiana, racing with slots runs at Harrah’s Hoosier Park and Horseshoe Indianapolis. The Kentucky page lists every track and gaming hall in the state, and race dates elsewhere are on the racing calendar.