Red Mile adds other forms of gambling giving it most games in the state

The Red Mile has more types of gambling than any other place in Kentucky.

The harness track in Lexington has simulcast betting on horse races and, in a joint venture with Keeneland, a betting parlor with hundreds of historical wagering machines, the slots-like form of electronic gambling based on previously run horse races.

Now, in its bars, the Red Mile also has the lottery and Keno, the instant play game from the Kentucky Lottery Corp.

It’s the only place in the state where you can play all those games, according to lottery officials.

But it’s working out so well, said Tom Delacenserie, president and CEO of the Kentucky Lottery Corp., that he hopes to expand it to other racetrack gambling parlors, such as Churchill Downs’ recently opened Derby City Gaming in Louisville and Kentucky Downs in Franklin.

Delacenserie said the lottery has been selling tickets and Keno cards at the Red Mile since about April.

“It’s been good. We’re just getting started but sales have been good,” he said. “They’re very reflective of what we see statewide: scratch-off sales are about 60 percent of the total and draw games are about 40 percent. ... People are finding out that we’re here, with Keno.”

Keno, which was launched by the lottery about three years ago, “is doing really well,” he said. “Keno outsold Powerball last year and it was arguably a very good Powerball year. ... And we’re totally under represented in bars and taverns. ... That volume is really done in convenience stores.”

He said that Keno vending machines are coming next June and that should boost sales significantly.

“We anticipate Keno could be a $100 million brand within a year or two,” he said.

Vince Gabbert, Keeneland vice president and COO, said that the tracks are excited to have another gambling offering for customers.

“From a customer engagement standpoint, Keno’s good for when you have gaps between races,” he said. “It does help from an overall customer experience just to have it on the menu of wagering options.”

Delasencerie agreed. “That’s the beautiful thing about this. One will help the other,” he said. “(Winnings) from Keno will be put into other venues here, and from those venues will go into Keno or scratch-offs. In Florida, we were in the dog tracks, we were in the horse tracks and it was a great partnership from people you would think would be competitors. ... If you’re winning on one, you tend to spend money on something else.”

When he saw the success at Kentucky Downs, which is the most successful of the historical racing venues in the state so far, Delasencerie wanted to establish similar relationships in Kentucky tracks.

“Really, when you look at it,” Delasencerie said, “it’s just two forms of the same thing.”

And both put the proceeds into specific entities: The Kentucky Lottery benefits grant and scholarship programs for Kentucky college students while historical racing and parimutuel betting fund purses for horse races. Lottery retailers, which would include the Red Mile and soon other tracks, also get 6 percent of sales.

The lottery and the tracks also are planning co-promotional events down the road.

This story was originally published October 4, 2018 at 1:40 PM.