Hoosier Park

Last updated
Harrah's Hoosier Park Racing & Casino
Location Anderson, Indiana
Address 4500 Dan Patch Circle
Opening dateJune 2008
Total gaming space92,000 sq ft (8,500 m2)
Casino type Racino
Owner Caesars Entertainment
Coordinates Coordinates: 40°04′20″N85°38′20″W / 40.07222°N 85.63889°W / 40.07222; -85.63889
Website hoosierpark.com

Harrah's Hoosier Park Racing & Casino is a racino including a standardbred racetrack located in Anderson, Indiana, approximately 30 miles northeast of Indianapolis. It is owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment. The facility features live harness racing from April through November, casino gaming, restaurants, a gift shop, and entertainment.

Contents

The $300,000 Dan Patch Stakes was established at Hoosier Park in 1994 and has become a tradition that highlights some of the best athletes in the sport of harness racing. The 2017 Breeders Crown, harness racing's annual series of 12 championship events valued at $6 million, was contested at Hoosier Park on October 27 & 28. [1]

Hoosier Park offers off-track betting (OTB) at three locations in Indiana: Clarksville, Indianapolis, and New Haven. Hoosier Park also offers simulcast wagering year-round.

Hoosier Park has hosted musicians such as The Beach Boys, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, and Billy Currington.

History

In 1990, Virgil E. Cook, a prominent local businessman and longtime resident of Anderson, Indiana, donated 110 acres (0.45 km2) of commercial real estate to the city for the sole purpose of developing a pari-mutuel racing facility. In 1992, Churchill Downs Incorporated announced plans to purchase Indiana's only pari-mutuel license from The Anderson Park Group headed by Louis Carlo and open a racetrack on the site of the land donated by Cook. It was the first racetrack outside Kentucky owned by Churchill Downs since 1939. In February 1994 a contract was signed for the construction of Hoosier Park. The construction of the facility cost approximately $13 million. On September 1, 1994, the track finally opened. A crowd of 7,633 came to the grand opening of the standardbred season. The track announces plans to open four off-track betting facilities in Indiana. On October 7, 1995, the first Indiana Derby was run.

Churchill Downs sold Hoosier Park in April 2007 for $8.2 million to Centaur Group.

Legislation was passed shortly after April 2007 to permit slot machines at both tracks, converting them to racinos. Both tracks were legislated to get a 55 percent share of the estimated $325 million the 2,000 slots at each of the state's two tracks were expected to generate annually. This would also increase the purse sizes of the races.

Hoosier Park Casino opened to the public on June 2, 2008. [2]

In 2001, Indiana Downs became the second horse racing track in the state. Initially located in Fairland, Indiana; it was later annexed into nearby Shelbyville, Indiana.

The Indiana Derby was once held at Hoosier Park but is now held at Indiana Grand Racing & Casino.

In 2018, Caesars Entertainment bought Hoosier Park from Centaur Holdings, along with Indiana Grand. [3] The company stated that it might rebrand the property as Harrah's Hoosier Park. [4]

Physical attributes

The track is a seven-eighths of a mile dirt oval. There is no turf course.

Racing

Stakes races at Hoosier Park include:

See also

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The Breeders Crown Open Mare Pace is a harness racing event for four-year-old and older Standardbred mare pacers. It is one part of the Breeders Crown annual series of twelve races for both Standardbred trotters and trotters. First run in 1986, it is contested over a distance of one mile. Race organizers have awarded the event to various racetracks across North America. The 2017 race will be held at Hoosier Park in Anderson, Indiana, United States.

The Breeders 2YO Colt & Gelding Pace is a harness racing event for two-year-old Standardbred male pacers. It is one part of the Breeders Crown annual series of twelve races for both Standardbred pacers and trotters. First run in 1985, it is contested over a distance of one mile. Race organizers have awarded the event to various racetracks across North America. The 2017 race will be held at Hoosier Park in Anderson, Indiana, United States.

The Breeders Crown 3YO Filly Trot is a harness racing event for two-year-old Standardbred female trotters. It is one part of the Breeders Crown annual series of twelve races for both Standardbred trotters and pacers. First run in 1984, it is contested over a distance of one mile. Race organizers have awarded the event to various racetracks across North America. The 2017 race will be held at Hoosier Park in Anderson, Indiana, United States.

The Breeders 2YO Filly Trot is a harness racing event for two-year-old Standardbred female trotters. It is one part of the Breeders Crown annual series of twelve races for both Standardbred trotters and pacers. First run in 1985, it is contested over a distance of one mile. Race organizers have awarded the event to various racetracks across North America. The 2017 race will be held at Hoosier Park in Anderson, Indiana, United States.

Montrell Teague is an American harness racing driver. He won the 2015 Dan Patch Rising Star Award at the age of 24 after winning the Little Brown Jug and Meadowlands Pace with 2015 Harness Horse of the Year Wiggle It Jiggleit. He is also noted for becoming the youngest driver to win a major stakes race at Hoosier Park in 2011 at the age of 20.

References

  1. ↑ AP 5:10 p.m. EDT October 29, 2014 (2014-10-29). "Breeders Crown sites announced through 2017". Usatoday.com. Retrieved 2016-05-26.
  2. ↑ "Hoosier Park Casino Officially Open « Southern Gaming". Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
  3. ↑ "Caesars' purchase of two Indiana racinos finalized". The Times of Northwest Indiana. July 17, 2018. Retrieved 2018-07-17.
  4. ↑ Lindsey Erdody (July 6, 2018). "Caesars steps into unfamiliar role in Indiana: horse track operator". Indianapolis Business Journal. Retrieved 2018-07-17.
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