By Todd Hatton
Murray, KY – The owner of Ellis Park in Henderson hopes to have Instant Racing machines installed early in 2012 and plans to stay open year-round as a simulcast facility starting January 1st. Ron Geary says up to 300 machines will be installed, potentially allowing him to increase the daily purse average at the track from around $150,000 to almost a quarter of a million dollars, which would rival competitor Hoosier Park in Indiana. Renovations have started at the track to clear room for Instant Racing machines, which resemble slot machines. The games require gamblers to pick the winners in replays of more than 21,000 historic, but unidentified, races, with the final three seconds shown on screens. Kentucky Downs in Franklin started using Instant Racing machines in September.