Circa Sports Readies Largest Sportsbook in Kentucky With 80-Foot LED Screen
Posted on: July 24, 2025, 09:53h.
Last updated on: July 24, 2025, 10:07h.
- Circa Sports is opening Kentucky’s largest sportsbook
- Circa Sports Kentucky will operate at Kentucky Downs
- The sportsbook will open to the public on August 23
Circa Sports is bringing Las Vegas to Kentucky with the Bluegrass State’s largest sportsbook.
On Wednesday, Circa Sports held a soft opening of Circa Sports Kentucky at The Mint Gaming Hall at Kentucky Downs. The Franklin Thoroughbred horse racetrack, located on the Kentucky border with Tennessee, opened its gaming facility featuring slot-like historical horse racing machines (HHR) in September 2020.
Patrons will soon have the ability to place not only parimutuel wagers but also bet on professional and college sports in a sportsbook seemingly lifted from Las Vegas.
Circa Sports, the retail and online sportsbook company owned by Derek Stevens, the downtown Las Vegas visionary behind Circa, the D, and Golden Gate casinos, said Circa Sports Kentucky was “built to be a premier gameday spot” for sports fans from “Kentucky, Nashville, and beyond.”
We’re proud to officially open the doors to this new sports betting experience for fans across the region,” Stevens said.
Wednesday’s event, The Mint Gaming Hall at Kentucky Downs officials said, was only a “soft launch.” The sportsbook facility will fully open to the public on Saturday, August 23.
In the interim, people aged 21 and up can bet via the Circa Sports mobile app. Circa Sports is also operational online in Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, and Nevada.
Circa Las Vegas Sportsbook Experience
Though not quite as large as the world-famous Circa Las Vegas Sportsbook, Circa Sports Kentucky provides a similar experience.
The 5,100-square-foot space includes an 80-foot-wide LED screen, a 31-foot-wide odds board displaying real-time lines, 113 stadium-style seats, recliners, and booths, and five staffed betting stations.
VSiN, the Vegas Stats & Information Network, which primarily airs from Circa and the D in Las Vegas, will broadcast “VSiN By The Books” live from Circa Sports Kentucky. VSiN airs on Sirius, and “By The Books” will debut from its new home next month, just in time for the NFL and college football seasons.
Circa Sports Kentucky will have staffed counters from 9 am until 10 pm daily, and until 11 pm on the weekends. Hours will be extended for special late-night events. When oddsmakers aren’t present, bettors can make their bets via four self-service sportsbook kiosks.
Breeder to Casino Owner
The three Mint Gaming Hall locations are owned by Kentucky Racing Acquisition, a firm led by Kentucky businessmen Ron Winchell and Marc Falcone.
Winchell owns Winchell Thoroughbreds, a prominent racing and breeding operation in Lexington. Falcone is a gaming industry veteran whose roles at Red Rock Resorts and Station Casinos included executive vice president, chief financial officer, and treasurer.
Kentucky, once a state opposed to casino gambling, legalized HHR machines in 2020 after the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled that their operations didn’t constitute legal parimutuel wagering. In response, lawmakers passed legislation to solidify their legal standing.
Certain horse racetracks began introducing HHR terminals to their grandstands in 2011 on the belief that they were modern, electronic versions of parimutuel wagering.
Along with Kentucky Downs in Franklin, there are Mint Gaming Halls in Bowling Green, Williamsburg, and Corbin. Kentucky Downs has the most HHR machines, with about 1,000 terminals. Bowling Green has almost 500, and Williamsburg has 450.
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