NDIANAPOLIS, In.  — The company that runs the Kentucky Derby has been picked to take over the stalled project to build a casino in the western Indiana city of Terre Haute. 

What You Need To Know

  • Churchill Downs Inc. has been selected to take over building a casino in Terre Haute, Indiana

  • Churchill beat out three other companies for the project

  • The Indiana Gaming Commission approved the deal Wednesday

  • Churchill Downs plans to build a 10-story, 125-room hotel. The project is slated to cost $240 million

Indiana Gaming Commission members voted Wednesday in favor of Louisville, Kentucky-based Churchill Downs Inc. over three other companies that submitted project proposals.

Churchill Downs’ selection comes after the Terre Haute project was derailed amid an investigation into criminal and financial misconduct allegations against top executives in an ownership group first awarded the casino license in May 2020. The state commission voted in June against renewing that group’s license and sought new applications.

Churchill Downs said it plans a $240 million project to build a new casino, along with a 10-story, 125-room hotel with a rooftop lounge. The company expects to open the casino within 16 months on property south of the Interstate 70-U.S. 41 interchange, near the Haute City Center shopping mall.

The state commission selected Churchill Downs even though the previous Terre Haute casino group is appealing the loss of its license. The commission is in settlement negotiations with that group ahead of a scheduled Dec. 3 hearing before an administrative law judge.

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