The sale of the Colonial Downs racetrack to the owner of the Kentucky Derby’s famous horse racing facility has been finalized.
The acquisition by Churchill Downs Inc. includes the New Kent racetrack and six Rosie’s Gaming Emporium locations, including those in New Kent County and Hampton, as part of a $2.75 billion deal with Peninsula Pacific Entertainment, according to a recent announcement.
The deal, first announced in February, closed Nov. 1. Churchill Downs received licensing approvals from the Virginia Racing Commission, the New York State Gaming Commission and the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission, the company said.
The finalization of the deal marks “a significant moment in the evolution of Churchill Downs Incorporated,” Bill Carstanjen, chief executive officer of Churchill Downs, said in the announcement. “This transaction meaningfully expands our geographic footprint to Iowa, New York and Virginia, introducing a very unique set of assets and attractive organic growth opportunities to our company.
“We are excited to welcome the teams from each of these well-established properties into Churchill Downs Incorporated.”
Ron Stiers, who sits on the New Kent County Board of Supervisors, said the board hopes to meet with company executives in a few weeks to discuss their short- and long-term goals for Colonial Downs. Stiers said the relationship between the county and the racetrack shouldn’t change.
Churchill Downs will also acquire the Del Lago Resort & Casino in Waterloo, New York, and the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Sioux City, Iowa.
Besides New Kent and Hampton, the six Rosie’s Gaming Emporiums are located in Collinsville, Dumfries, Richmond and Vinton and include about 2,700 slot-machine-like historical racing machines, or HRMS. As part of the acquisition, Churchill Downs gains the development rights for five additional entertainment venues in Virginia with collectively up to approximately 2,300 additional HRMs.
A Rosie’s in Emporia, located along I-95, and a gaming resort in Dumfries are expected to open some time next year, a news release said.
Also included in the sale are the rights to develop, in partnership with Maryland-based Urban One, a $556 million casino and resort in Richmond.
Colonial Downs first opened in 1997 but stopped horse racing in 2014 following disputes between former owners and the Virginia Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protection Association. Peninsula Pacific Entertainment restarted Colonial Downs horse racing in 2019.
In September, Virginia Derby Day set record-breaking numbers for the racetrack. The recent racing season brought in a total handle of $74.94 million, a daily average of $2.88 million. That was up 29% from last season and the highest it has been since the track reopened.
The racetrack’s success has helped drive up tourism in New Kent County, the head of Richmond Regional Tourism said last month. Colonial Downs contributed to a 40% increase in visitor spending last year over 2020 numbers.
Peninsula Pacific Entertainment has said that the sale would not affect daily operations or Colonial Downs employees and customers.
Amy Jo Martin contributed reporting to this story.
Kim O’Brien Root, kimberly.root@virginiamedia.com
