Churchill Downs to buy Colonial Downs, Rosie’s parent company

Churchill Downs Inc., known for the Kentucky Derby, has entered an agreement to acquire Peninsula Pacific Entertainment LLC (P2E), the parent company of Colonial Downs Group and Rosie’s Gaming Emporiums, for $2.485 billion, the company announced Tuesday morning.

CDI’s acquisition includes properties not only in Virginia but also Waterloo, New York, and Sioux City, Iowa. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the year and is dependent on obtaining approvals from the Virginia Racing Commission, as well as similar entities in New York and Iowa.

“This unique set of assets expands our geographic footprint and provides additional scale,” Bill Carstanjen, CEO of CDI, said in a statement. “P2E has done an exceptional job developing and managing this collection of assets, which we are very excited to acquire and plan to strategically grow in the years ahead.”

The assets in Virginia include the Colonial Downs Racetrack in New Kent and six Rosie’s Gaming Emporiums in Collinsville, Dumfries, Hampton, New Kent, Richmond and Vinton. CDI will also get the rights to build The Rose, a $400 million gaming facility and hotel being built in Prince William County, which will have 175,000 square feet of gaming space, eight restaurants and will open in late 2023. It will replace the Rosie’s Gaming Emporium that currently operates historical horse-racing machines in Dumfries.

CDI can develop up to five additional historical racing entertainment venues in Virginia with up to 2,300 additional horse racing machines, according to a news release. The company will also acquire the rights to develop a $20 million Rosie’s in Emporia, with 150 horse racing machines, expected to open in 2023. The project will generate an estimated $600,000 in annual tax revenue and create 100 jobs, according to Colonial Downs Group.

P2E also had a partnership with Urban One Inc., the company that was slated to build ONE Casino + Resort until Richmond voters rejected the $565 million proposal in November 2021. However, the referendum may appear a second time on Richmond’s ballots in November, with the majority of the City Council having approved it earlier this year.

Churchill Downs Inc. already owns three gaming entertainment venues with more than 3,000 historical racing machines in Kentucky, TwinSpires, an online wagering platform for horse racing, sports and gaming in the U.S., along with nine retail sportsbooks and casino gaming in nine states. Churchill Downs’ stock has fluctuated Tuesday, hitting a value of $215.70, down 1.82 points just after noon.