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Lexington’s Red Mile opened in 1875, making it the second-oldest harness racing track in the United States. Photo by Ryan Morris
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Photo by Ryan Morris
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Photo by Ryan Morris
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With 900 “Instant Racing” game machines, Red Mile’s gaming floor is the largest wagering facility of its kind in the country. The terminals, which resemble slot machines and impart the excitement of electronic games, allow bettors to wager on anonymous historic horse races. Photo by Ryan Morris
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With 900 “Instant Racing” game machines, Red Mile’s gaming floor is the largest wagering facility of its kind in the country. The terminals, which resemble slot machines and impart the excitement of electronic games, allow bettors to wager on anonymous historic horse races. Photo by Ryan Morris
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Completing a $42 million renovation and expansion project in 2015, Red Mile has made strides toward becoming a multi-faceted, year-round, entertainment venue, with weekly live music and an increased emphasis on its food and beverage programs. Photo by Ryan Morris
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Completing a $42 million renovation and expansion project in 2015, Red Mile has made strides toward becoming a multi-faceted, year-round, entertainment venue, with weekly live music and an increased emphasis on its food and beverage programs. Photo by Ryan Morris
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Photo by Ryan Morris
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Photo by Ryan Morris
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Photo by Ryan Morris
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Photo by Ryan Morris
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Photo by Ryan Morris
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Photo by Ryan Morris
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Photo by Ryan Morris
Each October, thousands of Kentuckians and tourists alike don their finest to flock to the outer limits of Lexington for a visit to Keeneland, the idyllic and illustrious historic racetrack that has long been a favorite seasonal pastime (if not a local rite of passage). But less than two miles from Lexington’s city center, another venerable racetrack steeped in history has steadily been building both on tradition and innovation to not only enhance the experience for its patrons, but also to bolster its position as a favorite, year-round entertainment venue.
The second-oldest harness racing track in the country, Red Mile opened in 1875, setting the pace for Standardbred racing in North America. Nearly a century and a half later, the track completed a massive $42 million renovation and expansion project in 2015, opening the door to a new era in the facility’s storied history. But according to Mary Catherine White, who joined Red Mile in early 2016 as the facility’s director of marketing and events, one of the facility’s biggest capstones remains its casual “come as you are” attitude.
“It really is a place for everyone,” said White.
With attractions that include fast-paced night races, a new Instant Racing gaming room with 900 wagering terminals, and an increased focus on its live music, food and beverage programs, Red Mile has increasingly become a destination for special occasions, from date night to girls’ night. But at the same time, it remains a popular spot for people to stop by and place a bet on their way to work or for locals of all walks of life to swing by and kill an hour or two, with a beer and a couple bets.
“We want everyone here to feel comfortable and at home just the way they are – luck doesn’t care what you are wearing,” White said.
Ambiance aside, it’s not difficult for the casual observer to spot distinctions between Lexington’s two racetracks, which White said have long worked in tandem to support each other’s breeds and assist one another operationally. Where Keeneland is nestled against a backdrop of rolling Bluegrass farms, Red Mile is situated in the center of the city, with the downtown skyline visible beyond the track from the grandstands. Another notable difference is that while Keeneland is famous for its Thoroughbred racing, Red Mile exclusively hosts Standardbred harness racing. Rather than being ridden by a jockey, as with Thoroughbreds, Standardbreds pull a driver in two-wheeled cart called a sulky. (Other telltale differences between the breeds can be spotted in the gait.) And while Keeneland’s track surface has gone from dirt to the synthetic Polytrack in 2006 and back to dirt again in 2014, Red Mile’s one-mile track has always been made of red Kentucky clay.
Whatever the surface material or color, though, fans and horse people agree on liking the green of a winning purse.
When Dean Rothemeier, a sales executive at Darley steeped in Thoroughbred operations, was approached alongside other Thoroughbred-industry regulars to join a pool to buy a couple of Standardbreds to run at Red Mile last year, he took a chance.
“The buy-in was low, and the goals were modest: win some races and have a good time,” Rothemeier explained.
Led by horseman Austin Luttrell, the ownership group calls itself “Cats By 90 LLC.” In 2016, the group owned two horses and easily met those modest goals. This year, the group has increased its numbers, both in shareholders and horses, making for a large group of excited friends, most of whom are in their 20s and 30s, in the winner’s circle when one of their stable horses wins. The young group is just one example of a new generation of horse industry enthusiasts who are embracing the rosy new energy at Red Mile.
“There is no place I’d rather be on a Sunday night than in the winner’s circle at the Red Mile,” said Roethemeier. “When you go to the Red Mile, you fall in love with the ‘whole show.’”
Thanks to the facility’s recent expansion and renovation project, that “whole show” now includes an indoor atrium that hosts live music on Saturday nights year-round, and expanded food service and upgraded concessions under the helm of food and beverages manager Joe Hall, a former chef at Tomo and Nick Ryan’s who focuses on interesting Appalachian-influenced dishes. In addition to the live racing that has historically taken center stage, the venue also hosts an increasing variety of other entertainment options, recently including a sold-out American Flat Track motorcycle racing event, a wiener dog race benefit for the Lexington Humane Society and a handicapping event for beginners called “Bets & Brews,” co-presented by Country Boy Brewing.
Central to the facility’s renovations and entertainment options is a new gaming floor that features 900 Instant Racing terminals, making it the largest facility in the nation for this type of wagering, which Kentucky legalized in 2012. Instant Racing is the brand name of the pari-mutuel terminals, which offer users a unique opportunity to wager on anonymous historical horse races that have already taken place. According to White, the terminals, which resemble slot machines, combine “the thrill of pari-mutuel wagering on horse racing with the excitement and speed of electronic games.”
A unique equal partnership between Keeneland and Red Mile, the wagering facility is owned and operated by KRM Wagering, a company named for the combined initials of the two equine entities. The Instant Racing terminals rely on a video library of tens of thousands of previous horse races, with users allowed to bet anywhere from 30 cents to 15 dollars. Players pick three horses, do as little or as much handicapping as they would like, then press “start” to trigger the play and video of the historic race (identifying information such as the date and location of the race are hidden from the player). Revenue from the historical wagering is split among the racetracks, horsemen and breeders, and is equally shared between Standardbreds and Thoroughbreds.
“Instant Racing has allowed Red Mile to reinvent itself as a multi-faceted entertainment venue,” White said. “Not only are we offering a really cool experience for Lexingtonians, but we are able to support one of the elements that really makes Lexington unique – these increases are undoubtedly directly and positively affecting Kentucky’s horse industry.”
Live harness races, of course, remain a strong entertainment focus of Red Mile, taking place at the track July through October each year. This year’s regular live racing schedule ran July 27-Sept. 17, with the nighttime Grand Circuit meet taking place Sept. 28-30 and the afternoon Grand Circuit meeting Oct. 1 and 5-8. The Grand Circuit meet is the Red Mile’s most anticipated annual event, as it has been since the event was started in the late 1800s, attracting racing fans from all over the world.
Reaching racing fans from Fayette County and beyond is, of course, the facility’s ultimate goal.
“My main focus right now is educating the public on the massive improvements we have made at Red Mile to make us the one-stop shop for most things equine – live racing, simulcasting and now Instant Racing,” White said, adding that she finds it incredibly fun and rewarding to work for an organization that is “steeped in history but also has its eye on the future,” with additional phases of the renovation and expansion project still to come.
“I’m excited about where Red Mile is currently,” White said, “and can’t wait to see what is next for us.”