Kentucky Downs racing: a short meet on an unusual course
The Kentucky Downs course is not an oval at all. It covers about one mile and five sixteenths of grass, shaped loosely like a kidney, and races at a mile and a half start into a sharp first turn. Runners dip and climb on the backstretch, then swing around a bulging far turn into a long homestretch.
It is also one of two North American courses with a right-hand turn, the other being the downhill turf course at Santa Anita. There is no dirt track at all. Field sizes have averaged more than ten runners per race in every year since 2014 except 2020, and the average $2 win payout at the 2025 meet came to $17.
For 2026 the track carded $37 million in purses over seven days, with 20 stakes worth $25.75 million. Headline races include the Nashville Derby Invitational, worth up to $3 million if a Kentucky-bred wins, the $2 million Mint Millions Invitational on Labor Day, and two Breeders’ Cup qualifiers: the Kentucky Cup Turf and the Turf Sprint.
Betting changes and how to watch
The 2026 meet raised several minimums: win, place and show bets went from $2 to $5, and the late Pick 3 from 50 cents to $3. Takeout on the Pick 3, 4 and 5 dropped to 15 percent. Every race airs on FanDuel TV and streams on Peacock and the track’s own YouTube channel, with NBC carrying two live shows.
Race-day seating and the far turn
Admission to the far-turn area near the gaming hall is free, and that is where tailgaters park, food trucks line up and families spread out on the grass. Closer to the finish, the ticketed Finish Line Pavilion and the enclosed, air-conditioned Chalet include a buffet, snacks and an open bar, and both tend to sell out early.
Between those two sits the Stretch Run section near the eighth pole, a tented area sold first come, first served, with its own food trucks. On September 5 the King of the Turf handicapping contest, with a $2,500 buy-in, runs alongside the card. Anyone new to wagering can read the basics in the pari-mutuel betting guide.
The Mint Gaming Hall at Kentucky Downs
The Mint is the year-round business. Its floor holds more than 1,300 machines, all of them historical horse racing terminals that pay out through pari-mutuel pools on replayed races, with titles such as Ultimate Fire Link. The hall is open from 9 a.m. to 5 a.m. Monday through Wednesday and around the clock from Thursday morning through Sunday.
Circa Sports Kentucky occupies the southern wing, with an 80-foot LED screen, a 31-foot odds board and more than 5,100 square feet of space; a studio there tapes VSiN shows. Upstairs, the Bit & Barrel Gaming and Race Lounge combines simulcast screens, a bar and views of the course. The gaming floor admits guests aged 21 and older.
Dining and the Kentucky Downs hotel
Irons Steakhouse is the sit-down restaurant, serving hand-cut steaks with Southern touches. Pie Rollers, next to the sportsbook, is a pizza parlor open until midnight most nights and 1 a.m. on weekends, while the Corner Cafe handles quick meals. Midnight Bourbon is the main bar on the gaming floor, and race days add food trucks outdoors.
The hotel on site is a SpringHill Suites by Marriott with 114 suites, a seasonal outdoor pool and breakfast included. A 5,000-square-foot event center next door hosts weddings, meetings and live entertainment for groups of up to 445 people. During the meet, Nashville hotels are a common alternative for visitors who want restaurants and music in the evening.
Getting to Kentucky Downs
Kentucky Downs lies at 5629 Nashville Road, just off Interstate 65 in Simpson County, close to Portland, Tennessee. Downtown Nashville is roughly 45 minutes south by car, and Bowling Green is a short drive north. Parking is free on race days and the rest of the year, and the gaming hall, hotel and track share one site.
History: from Dueling Grounds to The Mint
Kentucky Downs opened on April 22, 1990, as Dueling Grounds Race Course, named for a farm where duels were fought in the 1800s. It began with steeplechase racing, switched to flat racing in 1992, then missed its 1997 meet amid money troubles. Turfway Park, Churchill Downs and other investors bought it at auction that year and renamed it.
Historical racing machines arrived on September 1, 2011, the first in Kentucky, and survived a long court fight that ended when the legislature rewrote the pari-mutuel definition in 2021. The same ownership group later opened a satellite hall in Bowling Green and backed Cumberland Run in Corbin, the state’s newest harness track.
Nearby racinos and other Kentucky tracks
From Kentucky Downs, the nearest other track in the state is Oak Grove, a harness track and hotel to the west near Fort Campbell. Ellis Park in Henderson runs its thoroughbred summer meet in July and August, ending shortly before Kentucky Downs opens. The full statewide list of tracks and satellite halls is on the Kentucky page.