The Hopkinsville-Christian County Chamber of Commerce announced Thursday a groundbreaking ceremony will be held next week for the new Oak Grove Racing and Gaming facility.
In September of last year, Western Kentucky (WKY) Development, LLC, in a joint venture between Churchill Downs Incorporated and Keeneland Association Inc., filed an application with the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission to build a $125 million racing facility in Oak Grove and requested live standardbred racing dates at Louisville Downs in 2019 and in 2020 at its proposed venue in Christian County. The request was approved and the Christian County Community and Development Services (CDS) and Oak Grove City Council approved rezoning 240 acres of land at the intersection of Fort Campbell Boulevard and Thompsonville Lane, across from the Walmart shopping center.
Officials said the Oak Grove facility will create nearly 400 direct full and part-time positions and an estimated 800 direct construction jobs. The project includes a historical racing machine facility featuring up to 1,500 machines, a 125-room hotel with event center and food/beverage venues, a 1,200-person capacity grandstand and event space for indoor events, a 3,000-person capacity outdoor amphitheater, and a state-of-the-art equestrian center including indoor and outdoor arenas.
The groundbreaking will be held at 10:00 Tuesday morning at Thompsonville Lane, across from the Walmart entrance, in Oak Grove.