Saratoga Harness Racing, Inc. and
Churchill Downs Inc. are devising a
five-year management contract wherein
Churchill Downs will manage Saratoga
Casino and Raceway in Saratoga Springs
and Saratoga Casino Black Hawk in Black
Hawk, Colo. and own a percentage of the
local business in the city’s south end.
They are in negotiations on a stock purchase
agreement wherein Churchill Downs
Inc. will purchase 25 percent of economic
and voting interests of Saratoga Harness
Racing Inc., said officials.
Officials said once finalized, the management
contract will become effective as
soon as Churchill Downs obtains necessary
licenses and approvals in New York and
Colorado.
Should the two entities be successful in
their joint bid to build Capital View Casino
& Resort, a proposed destination resort
casino in East Greenbush, Churchill Downs
will also manage that facility, officials said.
A binding term sheet for such management
agreement was included with the
casino license application that was submitted
to the state New York Gaming Facility
Location Board.
In addition to its flagship Saratoga
Casino and Raceway in Saratoga Springs,
NY, Saratoga Harness Racing Inc. owns
a controlling interest in Saratoga Casino
Black Hawk in Black Hawk; a 50 percent
interest in a joint venture with Delaware
North Companies to manage the Gideon
Putnam Hotel and Resort in Saratoga
Springs, and a minority interest in Ellis
Park, a thoroughbred racing and instant
racing machine facility in Henderson, Ky.
Saratoga Harness Racing Inc., together
with its partner Rush Street Gaming, filed a
second application for a New York casino in
Newburgh, in the Hudson Valley-Catskills
Region.
“We are very excited about the expansion
of our relationship with Churchill Downs,”
said James D. Featherstonhaugh, secretary
and chief legal officer of Saratoga Harness
Racing. “We look forward to a long and
successful partnership between two iconic
names in the racing and gaming world.”
“We are proud to take an ownership
interest in Saratoga Harness Racing Inc.,
which shares with us a passion for offering
premier racing and gaming entertainment,”
said Bill Carstanjen, president and COO
of Churchill Downs Inc. “We are excited
to expand our operations into New York
and Colorado and hope to become more
involved in the Capitol Region if we are
fortunate enough to be awarded a license
to build and operate Capital View Casino
& Resort.”
Churchill Downs Inc., headquartered
in Louisville, Ky., owns and operates the
world-renowned Churchill Downs Racetrack,
home of the Kentucky Derby, as
well as many other casino operations,
racetracks and gaming businesses. Additional
information about CDI can be found
at www.churchilldownsincorporated.com.
Saratoga Harness Racing, Inc. is one
of the Capital Region’s largest employers,
boasting a $15 million annual payroll and
630 employees at its Saratoga Springs facility.
It traces its history to June 1941 with
the start of harness racing at the nation’s
third oldest harness track.