Oak Grove Racing schedule: spring and summer harness cards
Oak Grove Racing opens Kentucky’s standardbred season each spring. The 2026 meet began on Monday, March 23, and raced mainly on Mondays and Tuesdays through mid-July, with optional Saturdays in May and Wednesday cards on June 24 and July 8. Programs ran twelve or thirteen races, with the first post at 1:10 p.m. Central time.
After Oak Grove closes, the state’s harness circuit moves to The Red Mile in Lexington for late summer and then to Cumberland Run in Corbin each autumn. That schedule gives drivers and trainers a full Kentucky season, and Kentucky Sire Stakes races for two-, three- and four-year-olds run at all three tracks through the year.
The Oak Grove Trotting Derby
The meet’s centerpiece in 2026 was the new $500,000 Oak Grove Trotting Derby for three-year-old trotters, run with its filly companion, the Oak Grove Trotting Oaks, on Preakness Day, Saturday, May 16. Eliminations were held on Monday, May 4. On the regular schedule, weekly $30,000 Open paces and trots for older horses headline the overnight cards.
Watching and betting at the harness track
The 13,000-square-foot Grandstand is smoke-free and looks out over the track, and an outdoor patio faces the homestretch, finish line and winner’s circle. Admission and parking are free on race days. A simulcast room with ten screens takes wagers on races from other tracks all year, whatever their schedule, and free past performances are published online for each card.
Bettors find a late Pick 5 covering the last five races at a 20-cent minimum, plus a $1 Pick 4 starting in race six; both carry a 15 percent takeout. Readers new to the wagers can start with the pari-mutuel betting guide, which explains how pools and takeout set the payouts on every ticket.
Oak Grove Racing gaming floor
The Oak Grove Racing floor holds more than 1,200 historical horse racing machines, with themes such as Wheel of Fortune, 88 Fortunes, Lock It Link and Ultimate Fire Link. Denominations start at a quarter, and a high-limit room takes bets above $100 a spin. The state’s September 2026 report counted 1,222 machines and $15.7 million in monthly revenue.
Electronic roulette sits in the non-smoking section, with a live ball display, a new spin every 45 seconds and bets from $3 to $2,999.50. Live table games are not legal in Kentucky, so there are no dealers. The property is open 24 hours a day, every day, and everyone entering must be 21 or older.
Oak Grove hotel, dining and the amphitheater
The five-story hotel has 128 rooms, from 418-square-foot Classic rooms with king or double queen beds up to Executive Suites and a Presidential Suite with a billiards room overlooking the track. Rooms include a refrigerator, coffee station and Wi-Fi. A lobby bar serves hotel guests, and member rates are offered through FastTrack Rewards.
Garrison Oak Steakhouse is the signature restaurant, with a curved mahogany ceiling and a private dining room. EATS Food Court sits just off the gaming floor, and O’Dark Thirty Coffee House serves coffee, pastries and sandwiches. The Sports Bar and Peek-A-Boo Bar fill out the drinking options, and the Moonshine Amphitheater brings national headliners outdoors.
Getting there and nearby gaming
Oak Grove Racing, Gaming & Hotel sits right off Interstate 24 at Exit 86, beside U.S. 41, known locally as Fort Campbell Boulevard. Clarksville, Tennessee, is just across the state line, and Nashville is reached via I-24. An RV park offers thirty 100-foot pull-through sites with power, water and a dump station.
Churchill Downs opened Marshall Yards Racing & Gaming at the junction of I-24 and I-69 in Calvert City on February 25, 2026. That 23,000-square-foot hall with about 225 machines, a sports bar and sports wagering helps fund purses at Oak Grove. For a thoroughbred day out, Kentucky Downs in Franklin is the nearest turf track to the east.
Oak Grove history in brief
The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission granted the license in November 2018 to WKY Development, a joint venture 95 percent owned by Churchill Downs and 5 percent by Keeneland. Ground was broken in April 2019 on a project then priced at $150 million, and the gaming floor opened in September 2020, with the hotel, amphitheater and RV park following.