Hoosier Park Picks, Entries and Results
Address: 4500 Dan Patch Cir, Anderson, IN 46013
Website: www.caesars.com/harrahs-hoosier-park
Meeting: Hoosier Park conducts a standardbred meet from late March through early November each year, with 160 racing days offered in 2019 on a Tuesday through Sunday schedule. The marquee race of the meet is the $300,000 Dan Patch, which features some of the best horses harness racing has to offer. Racing is held exclusively on dirt.
History: Hoosier Park is located in Anderson, IN, approximately 30 miles northeast of Indianapolis. In 1990, prominent local businessman Virgil E. Cook donated the parcel of land on which Hoosier Park sits to the town of Anderson so that a racetrack could be built. In 1992, Churchill Downs Incorporated purchased Indiana’s only pari-mutuel license and developed a track on the site. The track was built for approximately $13 million and opened on September 1, 1994. It was the first track outside of Kentucky owned by CDI since 1939. CDI then sold Hoosier Park for $8.2 million to Centaur Group in 2007. That same year, legislation was passed to allow slot machines at the track, and the casino portion of the facility opened on June 2, 2008. The 2017 Breeders Crown, harness racing's annual series of 12 championship events valued at $6 million, was contested at Hoosier. In 2018, the track was sold again, this time to Caesars Entertainment.
Facilities: The track is a seven-furlong dirt oval. Being a racino, there are of course slots and other electronic games at Hoosier, as well as restaurants, a gift shop, and live entertainment. Notable musicians the track has hosted include The Beach Boys, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, and Billy Curington.