Dade Park was established in 1922 as a harness racing track in Henderson, KY. It wasn’t until 1954 before the track became known as Ellis Park. Affectionately, the track’s nickname is “The Pea Patch.” The infield has an annual soybean crop harvested for charity. Just as the race course went through many changes then, it is underway with major change right now. The thoroughbred track was built to resemble Saratoga Race Course in New York. They too have a sprawling picnic table area. The track was sold from Saratoga Casino and Hospitality Group earlier this summer. Ellis Entertainment LLC. purchased the race track for $11 million dollars and now has plans to spend an additional $55 to $100 million dollars in renovations. Look for new lights, restaurants, a hotel, more slot machines and improvements to the paddock, barns, grandstands and more over the course of many seasons. It is expected to roll out in a three-phase plan. The professional photographers, this past weekend, where very happy about the possibility of the new lighting. They were hoping it could lead to night racing which adds a nice way to beat the heat and can be a bit more elegant and entertaining for the fans.
Even the camels are happy at Ellis Park. 
Liz Morris rides the winning camel at Ellis Park!
The trainers may have been most excited about the plans for new barns. Sovereign Award winning trainer, Mark Casse decided that he would fill up 25 stalls in the current barns with his thoroughbreds for the summer. After he swept the final 2 legs of the Triple Crown this year with War of Will in the Preakness and Sir Winston in the Belmont, he wanted to base his horses in Kentucky this season. He will be shuttling his horses between Churchill Downs and Ellis Park all summer long. He was noted to say of Ellis that “It’s a good safe place to run.” Safety means everything right now, Ellis Park has live racing dates on Fridays thru Sundays from 6/30/19 to 9/1/19 with additional racing on 7/4 and 9/2 but bypassing 8/31. Ellis Park hosts stakes races on Sundays. The facility is open for simulcasting 365 days a year. I spotted Hall of Fame trainer, Steve Asmussen in the winners circle this past weekend. Ellis is working well for him also.
The ostriches were all smiles for racing at Ellis Park too! 
Dylan Willett rode the fastest ostrich at Ellis Park.
The jockeys got pretty pumped for this meet too. Local favorites, Keeneland meet regulars and award winners from the national spotlight decided to go with Ellis Park this summer. Julien Leparoux rode at Ellis Park for his first time. Look for Florent Geroux, Chris Landeros, Tyler Baze, Shaun Bridgmohon, Brian Hernandez Jr., and more talent to saddle up this meet at Ellis Park. Miguel Mena showed up on opening day and won 3 races on that card alone. I saw him win again this past weekend.
The fans have plenty of perks to look forward to this meet and in the future too. Ellis Park seems to know what it takes to entertain a new and regular fan base. New fans are the way of the future. Ellis Park offers several promotions, giveaways and special events. When I attended last Saturday they had drawings for a patio set and gas grill, betting vouchers and flag poles. Even better, I finally got to watch both ostrich and camel races which were highly amusing. Congrats to jockey agent, Liz Morris for winning the camel race and maintenece staff member, Dylan Willett on the fastest ostrich. Caps, coolers, umbrellas, t-shirts, cash, TVs, food, gaming, kayaks, tents, live music and more prizes will be offered this meet.
Don’t miss an opportunity to check out Ellis Park as it escalates into the spotlight. This weekend lookout for 26 more live races. I am happy that Ellis Park has this new opportunity to be home to Kentucky racing as it was meant to be. The connections are on to the potential, it is time for the fan base to climb aboard for some great racing!
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