Churchill Downs Incorporated (CDI) has opened a new outdoor gaming patio on the south side of Derby City Gaming, the only licensed land-based gaming facility in Louisville, Kentucky.
The 8,000 square foot outdoor space features 225 historical racing machines (HRMs), bringing the facility’s total number of machines to 1,225.
The new patio is the facility’s second, adding to an existing patio on the north side, which holds 113 HRMs.
“The existing patio at Derby City Gaming has been an extremely popular location for our guests,” said Austin Miller, senior vice president, gaming operations for CDI.
“This additional patio will provide our guests with more machines, more space, and an abundance of fresh air to enjoy while playing at Derby City Gaming. This new amenity is unlike any other in the market and I am excited for our guests to experience it.”
As Kentucky’s current gaming regulations only allow for betting on horse racing, HRMs offer customers in the state an opportunity to wager outside the confines of live racing schedules.
HRMs can be similar in feel to slot machines, but allow customers to bet on horse races which have already taken place. Betting outcomes are based on actual racing results from over 100 years of historical data, used to determine winning combinations based on a pari-mutuel betting structure.
Before placing a wager, customers have access to previous racing form such as jockeys’ and trainers’ winning percentages, but no identifying information is provided on specific races, such as jockey and horse names. After placing a wager, a race is selected from a video library of over 60,000 historical races, and winning bets are determined.
Derby City Gaming reopened on June 9, following the national shutdown of gaming facilities due to the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. In order to maintain staff and customer safety, all reopened CDI properties are following the “CDI 360 degree approach to safety”.
Protocols include social distancing measures, enhanced cleaning of high-touch areas and the provision of personal protective equipment for employees.
CDI’s flagship event, the world-famous Kentucky Derby, celebrates its 146th edition tomorrow, September 5, after Covid-19 saw the date pushed back from May 2.
The race will be run without spectators, amid rising numbers of Covid-19 cases in Kentucky, which saw CDI scrap plans to allow a limited crowd to attend.