Harman Patil (Editor)

Hoosier Park

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Location
  
Anderson, Indiana

Casino type
  
Racino

Website
  
www.hoosierpark.com

Total gaming space
  
8,547 m²

Opening date
  
June 2008

Owner
  
Centaur, Inc.

Opened
  
1 September 1994

Phone
  
+1 765-642-7223

Address
  
4500 Dan Patch Cir, Anderson, IN 46013, USA

Hours
  
Open today · Open 24 hoursTuesdayOpen 24 hoursWednesdayOpen 24 hoursThursdayOpen 24 hoursFridayOpen 24 hoursSaturdayOpen 24 hoursSundayOpen 24 hoursMondayOpen 24 hours

Similar
  
Indiana Grand Racing, Mounds State Park, Meadowlands Racetrack, Anderson Center for the Arts, Paramount Theatre Centre

Profiles

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Hoosier Park is a racino including a thoroughbred and standardbred racetrack located in Anderson, Indiana, United States.

Contents

In 2009, the Horseplayers Association of North America introduced a rating system for 65 Thoroughbred racetracks in North America. Hoosier Park was initially ranked #4, but has since fallen out of the rankings as of 2014.

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 dollars to Centaur Group.

Legislation was passed shortly after April 2007 to permit slot machines at both tracks, essentially converting them to what is called a "racino". 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.

Competition

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.

Competition eventually took its toll on Hoosier Park. When Indiana Downs opened, Hoosier Park was forced to split the state subsidy granted when the state had to issue two licenses. Also for the first time, Hoosier Park faced competition; both tracks are approximately 40 minutes apart and are about 15 minutes outside of Indianapolis.

Since 2003, both tracks have lost approximately $20 million combined.

Physical attributes

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

Racing

The track conducts the following thoroughbred stakes:

  • The Richmond Stakes
  • The Indiana Breeders' Cup Oaks (Grade II)
  • The Hillsdale Stakes
  • The Gus Grissom Stakes
  • Hoosier Silver Cup Stakes - Filly Division
  • Hoosier Silver Cup Stakes
  • The Merrillville Stakes
  • The Brickyard Stakes
  • The Miss Indiana Stakes
  • The Indiana Futurity
  • The Frances Slocum Stakes
  • The Michael G. Schaefer Mile Stakes
  • The Too Much Coffee Stakes
  • The Indiana Stallion Stakes (Filly Division)
  • The Indiana Stallion Stakes
  • The Indiana Derby was once held at Hoosier Park but is now held at Indiana Grand.

    References

    Hoosier Park Wikipedia