Derby City Gaming Downtown Launches in Louisville

A New Gaming Experience in the Heart of Louisville

By Amelia Walker Senior Content Writer Updated: 20 December 2023

Amelia Walker Senior Content Writer

Amelia Walker is a Senior Content Writer at Betting.US. She has a law degree and deep knowledge of the gambling laws in the United States. Her mission is to keep players informed about responsible gambling, while her passion for sports helps her create useful guides. Amelia has over a decade of experience in betting, which has positioned her as a trusted voice among our readers.

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Revitalizing Downtown Louisville

Derby City Gaming Downtown, covering a whopping 43,000+ square feet, offers a lot more than just sports betting opportunities. The opening of this facility marks a crucial step in the revival of downtown Louisville. Post-COVID-19, the city has been looking for ways to inject life back into its urban core, and Derby City Gaming Downtown is a solid method of achieving just this.

Bill Carstanjen, CEO of Churchill Downs Incorporated, emphasizes the broader impact of this project:

The goal was really to contribute to our community in an area where we thought our community really needed help, which was downtown Louisville. We wanted to find an opportunity to invest in our downtown.

He went on to say that the area has been affected by Covid over the past few years, and that they wanted to make Louisville a special place.

State-of-the-Art HHR Machines Available

One of the biggest selling points of Derby City Gaming Downtown is the inclusion of their Historical Horse Racing (HHR) machines, also known as “instant racing machines.” These machines resemble traditional slot machines in appearance and user interaction. However, they distinguish themselves by generating results based on the outcomes of past horse races, rather than through random number generation like traditional slots.

The working mechanism of HHR machines is straightforward yet unique. They randomly select a race from a large database of past horse races, obscuring specific details like names and dates to maintain the gambling aspect. Players are given a form to handicap three horses, similar to live racing betting, but many machines also offer an automated selection process. This makes the experience pretty similar to that of playing a physical slot machine.

Once a player has placed their bets, the “race” begins – although the machines show only the final moments of the race on a small part of the screen, with the rest of the display resembling slot machine reels and symbols to indicate wins or losses.

HHR Machines: An Interesting History

The concept of HHR was devised in the 1990s as a means to offer a slot-like experience in regions where traditional slots were not legal. This is due to the classification of HHR machines under pari-mutuel betting, which is legal in many states. However, the evolution of HHR machines has led to controversy and legal challenges. Earlier versions focused more on the racing aspect, but later designs have shifted towards a slot-style format, raising questions about their classification as pari-mutuel betting systems.

It doesn’t look as though there will be any legal challenges facing Derby City Gaming Downtown – and it’s clear that HHR machines are a key selling point for the establishment.