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Ellis Park Racetrack

Ellis Park is a thoroughbred racetrack in Henderson, Kentucky, just south of Evansville, Indiana. An unusual fact about the track is that it actually lies north of the Ohio River, which forms the border between Kentucky and Indiana. However, the state border is based on the course of the river as it existed when Kentucky became a state in 1792.

Due to the New Madrid earthquake of 1812, the Ohio changed course to the south, leaving the land that would later house Ellis Park separated from the remainder of Kentucky by the river. The racetrack actually uses Indiana's 812 area code despite officially being located in Kentucky.

History

It was built by the Green River Jockey Club in 1922. It initially held a harness meeting on the Grand Circuit for the total of $32,000 in purses for a five day race meeting. On November 10, 1922 a 10-day thoroughbred meet with purses of $62,000 was held. The meet was a stop on the train route south to New Orleans for winter racing at Fair Grounds Race Course.

These short meets didn't meet the needs of the track and in 1925 after three years of operation the Green River Jockey Club went bankrupt. In 1925 James C. Ellis, a Rockport businessman, purchased the track, then called Dade Park. He changed the name to Ellis Park and brought about many changes at the track including adding a totalisator wagering system and a terrace grandstand. He died in 1956 and the track was managed by his nephew, Lester E. Yeager. Under Yeager's leadership a new paddock and jockey's quarters were built as was a new clubhouse and stable areas. He passed the baton onto Ruth Adkins in the mid 1960's.

Adkins was the chief officer of the James C. Ellis estate, which still owned the track and businesses and real estate in Kentucky and Indiana. The track was sold in 1985 to Roger and Lila Kumar. They built a Sky Terrace atop the Grandstand and pushed for the inter-track wagering legislation in Kentucky. They, in turn, sold the track to the Racing Corporation of America in 1989. The company sold the track to Churchill Downs Incorporated in 1998. The racetrack suffered extensive damage as well as the death of several racehorses when a tornado ripped through the area on November 6, 2005.