Ellis Park closing, now opening

[my miss storm cat]

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/.../80702026/1003

Ellis Park owner Ron Geary said tonight he’s closing the Henderson, Ky., racetrack, which was scheduled to open its summer thoroughbred meeting on Friday. Geary said he made the decision after a federal judge denied his request for an injunction against Kentucky horsemen that would have allowed him to offer the track’s races to national account wagering outlets.

“I don’t have any plans on opening it again as a racetrack,” Geary said in a telephone interview. “That’s for sure.”

The shutdown leaves Kentucky horsemen without a place to race in the state for much of the summer after Churchill Downs' spring-summer meet ends Sunday. River Downs in Cincinnati is the closest alternative. Lisa Underwood, executive director of the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority, said Geary called her today to inform her that the track would not open for the meet. She said he did not address anything beyond that timeframe.