WHITLEY COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — Officials broke ground on a new horse racing facility expected to bring hundreds of jobs and revenue to southern Kentucky.
A $90 million joint business venture of the owners of Keeneland and Kentucky Downs is expected to bring nearly 300 jobs to the Corbin-Williamsburg area.
"Similar to what we have in the Kentucky Downs facility. We're going to have about 300 well-paying jobs. A lot of them include gratuity and we have benefits packages that honestly they'll match any other industry in the region," said Ron Winchell, Co-owner of Kentucky Downs.
Governor Andy Beshear and Senate President Robert Stivers joined local officials in Williamsburg to unveil the first site, a historical racing machines facility.
The Cumberland Mint will sit right off I-75 and is projected to see 2,500 visitors a day.
"We expect many out-of-state travelers to come visit and leave their dollars right here in Kentucky with us. The investment is a bet on our future and shows the incredible strength of the Kentucky Horse Racing and tourism industry," said Governor Andy Beshear.
The other facility, named Cumberland Run, will be a harness horse racing facility 15 miles away in Corbin. The groundbreaking there is expected to happen later in the year.
The horse racing industry in Kentucky has an economic impact of $3.4 billion annually.
The owners hope Cumberland Run will help keep more Standardbred horses in Kentucky.
