Western Kentucky’s Ellis Park, located in Henderson, has had a resurgence in recent years. The small, rustic track located on the north banks of the Ohio River (on the Indiana side, yet still in Kentucky) has seen field size and purse levels rise after the introduction of historical horse racing machines to the facility as a new, year-round source of gaming revenue in 2012.

In fall 2022, Ellis Park was bought by Churchill Downs Inc., and the track’s forward momentum has only sped up since then. On July 3, Ellis kicks off its 2024 summer meet totaling 25 days of live racing – so as the Kentucky circuit heads West, let’s take a look at what Ellis Park has to offer horseplayers and fans. The track is all set for a successful meet after the grounds were heavily flooded back in April, with an exciting schedule on tap featuring 18 stakes races totaling $4 million in purses and maiden races for Kentucky-breds with purses set at $100,000.

How to Get There

For those driving from the Louisville area or points east such as Lexington, the quickest route is to take 1-64 westbound through southern Indiana all the way to the I-69 intersection north of Evansville, then take I-69 south and west to state road 41, and then drive south less than a mile on that very busy thoroughfare to the track. For what seemed like an eternity, a comprehensive repair project required partial or complete closure of the Sherman Minton Bridge, which carries traffic on I-64 from Louisville into southern Indiana. However, work on the double-decker bridge is finished as of June 2025. 

Major Race Dates and Betting Options

Easy paddock access and a laid-back vibe. (Eclipse Sportswire)

To begin its summer meet, Ellis will conduct live racing for four consecutive days starting on Thursday, July 3, and ending Sunday, July 6, including the July 4 holiday on Friday. After that, Ellis will hold live racing on a Saturday-Monday three-day schedule each week until the closing weekend, which will run from Friday, Aug. 22 to Sunday, Aug. 24. Ellis shifted to a Saturday-Monday weekly schedule for most of the meet last summer and, after reporting a 20 percent increase in handle for 2024, will continue that schedule this year. Post time for the first race each day of the meet is 11:50 a.m. CT. Races from Ellis will be broadcast on FanDuel TV.

Major race dates are Saturday/Sunday, Aug. 2-3, when seven stakes races including the Grade 3 Pucker Up Stakes will be held as preps for Kentucky Downs’ elite turf meet in late August and September; and on Sunday, Aug. 10, when six stakes are offered, including the Groupie Doll Stakes for fillies and mares, which was formerly the Gardenia Stakes and is now named after the two-time champion female sprinter who won the race in 2011. The one-mile Ellis Park Derby for 3-year-olds also will be held on Aug. 10.

Horseplayers have plenty of gambling opportunities on each racecard at Ellis throughout the meet, with at least two daily Pick 5s offered (50-cent minimum), a $3 all-turf Pick 3, and a 20-cent Dade Park Pick 6 offered, each with a 15% takeout. Advance-deposit wagering on races at Ellis is offered through TwinSpires.com, owned by Churchill Downs Inc.

Track Trends on Dirt and Turf

Contentious turf racing. (Coady Media)

Let’s look at the winning track trends from the 2024 Ellis Park meet to try to formulate a strategy for the best types of horses to bet in 2025.

Starting with dirt sprints, we see that Ellis Park ran 84 dirt sprint races in 2024 and they were very fair for the most part in terms of running styles and post positions. Early speed horses, as defined as leading or racing within a length of the pace, won 37 of the 84 sprints (44% of the races), and stalkers, as defined as racing between one and four lengths off the pace, won 36 of the sprints for 43%. The running style at a disadvantage was closers coming from four or more lengths off the pace, who won only 11 of 84 dirt sprints in 2024 to account for 13% of the races. Speed horses tended to have their best success coming from the three inside posts, while stalkers had a much better win rate when starting from the middle posts 4-6.

The majority of Ellis dirt routes are run at one mile (there were only eight longer routes run in 2024). Ellis Park dirt miles are run from a mile chute featuring a half-turn on the clubhouse side. Ellis mile races were remarkably fair in 2024 with the 49 dirt miles being won by 17 speed horses, 16 stalkers, and 16 closers. The slight advantage in post positions went to horses breaking from middle posts 4-6 who combined to win 23 times (47% of the races).

The Ellis Park turf course is a one-mile oval. Ellis ran a total of 57 turf routes at last year’s meet and the course played very fairly. All running styles and post positions enjoyed nearly identical success. The only surprise in 2024 was that outside posts in turf routes actually did the best. Handicappers betting the 2025 meet should take note of this trend because outside horses in turf routes often get overlooked and pay overlaid odds. In 2024, outside horses from posts 7+ in Ellis turf routes won 23 of the 57 races (40%).

Ellis Park turf sprints are all run at 5 ½ furlongs and they ran 30 of them at the 2024 meet. The stats revealed some shocking results. First, there were exactly zero inside speed turf sprint winners at the 2024 meet (0-for-30 speedsters from the three inside posts). Speed horses excelled in turf sprints only when they started from middle posts 4-6 with eight wins in the 30 races (won 27% of the turf sprints). Middle posts as a whole (14 wins) did much better than inside posts (eight wins) and outside posts 7+ (eight wins). The main turf sprint disadvantage was against closers, who won only five of the 30 turf dashes to account for 17% of the winners.–Noel Michaels

Leading Jockeys and Trainers

Jaime Torres (Eclipse Sportswire)

The Ellis Park meet will boast a strong jockey colony despite some of the regular Kentucky riders heading off to Saratoga Race Course for the summer. The 2024 Ellis Park season featured a battle for the jockey title between Jaime Torres and Luan Machado with Torres eventually prevailing, tallying 21 wins to 20 for Machado. Cristian Torres was not far back in third with 17 wins, and Edgar Morales was fourth with 14 wins. Brian Hernandez Jr. and Florent Geroux won a good percentage of their races with far fewer mounts due to more days riding out of town. Gerardo Corrales, Vincent Cheminaud, Martin Garcia, Rafael Bejarano, and James Graham will also see their fair share of winning action. And Tyler Gaffalione, who has resided atop the jockey rankings at various Kentucky tracks in recent years, is set to make his return from an ankle injury on Ellis Park’s opening-day card.

The Ellis Park trainer’s standings will showcase some top barns if last year’s 2024 leaderboard was any indication. Brendan Walsh and Steve Asmussen shared the 2024 Ellis Park training title with 14 wins apiece. Walsh won the same amount of races as Asmussen with roughly half the amount of starters. Walsh had only 70 starters and won at a 20% clip while Asmussen won at a much lower percentage with 14 wins from 140 starters for a 10% strike rate. That kind of win percentage won’t make bettors any money.

Some of the other trainers handicappers can profit from at Ellis Park’s 2025 meet should include Brad Cox (9-for-46, 20% in 2024), Chris Hartman (9-for-39, 23%), Brian Lynch (8-for-41, 20%), Mike Maker (8-for-42, 19%), Dale Romans (6-for-25, 24%), Eoin Harty (6-for-10, 60%), Paulo Lobo (5-for-21, 24%), Mark Casse (4-for-18, 22%), Bill Mott (4-for-11, 36%), Paul McGee (4-for-8, 50%), and Brittany Vanden Berg (4-for-7, 57%), who all won at impressive percentages last year.–Noel Michaels

Amenities and What to Do in the Area

Family-friendly fun. (Coady Media)

Fans visiting won’t get the same experience watching top-class horses compete at Ellis as they will at the recently-completed meet under the Twin Spires in Louisville, and that’s part of the track’s charm – even though the soybean field that gave the track its nickname of the “Pea Patch” has been removed to improve drainage. Instead of Millionaire’s Row buffets, Kentucky Derby murals, a $200 million paddock, and ample air conditioning, there will be picnic tables, ceiling fans, beer buckets, and ICEE stands. Ellis does have a separate air-conditioned building with a restaurant, which is now largely populated by historical horse racing machines and the people playing them. An air-conditioned Sky Suite is also available with nice views of the track and surroundings. But the majority of Ellis Park is open-air, and many fans congregate in a picnic area with several tents set up to mitigate sun exposure.

It’s a family-friendly, laid-back egalitarian vibe at Ellis, with easy access to the small paddock and ample space for watching the races on the track apron and rail. General admission is free during Ellis’ regular meet starting July 3, and a schedule of events can be found here.

If you’re staying in the area for a day or two, avoid the usual preponderance of chain restaurants and stores lining state road 41 on the Kentucky side or on the main shopping drag in Evansville, Ind. (John Lloyd Expressway) and spend time at the riverwalk areas in both Henderson and Evansville. John James Audubon State Park (named after the renowned ornithologist and painter) is right across the Ohio River from Ellis Park in Kentucky and offers a nice refuge for hiking and bird watching as well as a museum. 

I would be remiss to fail to mention nearby Owensboro, Ky., about 25 miles east of Henderson along the Ohio River. Owensboro is one of Kentucky’s best towns and is known for another destination riverwalk area, the Bluegrass Hall of Fame and Museum downtown, and perhaps most of all as the mutton capital of the world. Both the Moonlite Bar-B-Q Inn (for the buffet experience) and Old Hickory Bar-B-Que (dine in or carry out) are recommended.–Patrick Reed