By Andy Furman
NKyTribune reporter
Call it a dress rehearsal.
The Governor was making an appearance later in the day.
And, the public will be invited – for the very first time – Thursday, September 1st at 9 a.m.
That’s when the doors of the new Turfway Park Racing and Gaming facility in Florence swing open for wagering.
Thoroughbred racing will commence November 30, according to General Manager Chip Bach who guided VIPs on a brief tour of the new facility Tuesday morning.
“We open Thursday morning,” he proudly told the assembled crowd, “And our hours will be 9 a.m. to 4 a.m., Monday through Thursday.
“We’ll operate 24 hours on the weekends,” he said.
The state-of-the-art facility has 850 gambling machines – and Bach notes they’re approved for 1,200.
The new facility – like its sister operation Newport Gaming – will offer membership in their Players’ Club, according to Marketing Chief, Gary Pecorello.
“Joining the Players’ Club is free,” he said. “One can accumulate points, good for comps, as well as free plays. We can target our guests through club memberships.”
A patron can win ten dollars to one thousand on free-play when they sign up, he said.
And what is the popular game of choice?
“Wheel of Fortune, Buffalo Gold, and Ultimate Fire Link seem to be most popular in Newport,” Pecorello said. “And, of course, they are available here at Turfway.”
A smoking-access room has been added – climate controlled – with 180-200 machines, Pecorello said.
Bach was enthusiastic with the new Bourbon and Brew Restaurant.
“We’ll have weekend entertainment – bands – on the stage,” he said, “and we’ll have sports scores flash across the room at all times.”
And for history, the new hasn’t forgotten the old.
Serena’s Song – a filly who started 13 times and won nine times as a three-year-old – including the Spiral Stakes in 1995 is fondly remembered at the new Turfway Park.
Serena’s Market, according to Bach, is a Grab-and-Go type of food emporium.
Trained by Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas, Serena’s Song beat a field of seven stakes winners, including Conquistadoress and Rare Opportunity in the $200,000 Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes.
The race was run over a mile-and-one-eighth at Pimilico Race Course, May 19, 1995.
“She had some real ‘Girl Power,’ Back gloated, “she had talent as well as will. And we remember her here.”
Serena’s Song defeated males in the Spiral Stakes that year and in the Haskell Stakes. She then won the American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly award, winning $1,524,920.
A new room for trainers and owners to watch races, eat, entertain, and actually face the paddock area has been constructed as well.
“And we now have an event space,” Bach said. “Since we’ll only be racing from late November to early April, we can use this room for banquets, celebrations, parties and weddings.”
That room will seat close to 1,200 patrons.
“This room is something the community had asked for,” he said, “and honestly there was a void in the area for a place like this.”
For the historians, the new event room is actually in the same space where the old grandstand once stood.
As for the toteboard – the electrically operated board on which pertinent information such as betting odds and race results is posted – was missing.
“I think the wind took it in a recent storm,” Bach said, “But a new innovative message board will be ready for the November 30 debut of thoroughbred racing.”
Physical additions to the plant include a new two-story dormitory for jockeys and horsemen and five new barns, Bach added.
It’s spanking new, clean, bright and fresh.
But it hasn’t forgotten its history.
Simulcasting will be available seven-days-a-week. Hours are: Monday and Tuesday: 11:30 a.m.- 6 p.m.; Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday: 11:30 a.m. – 8 p.m.; and Friday and Saturday: 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m.
