Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course is a
thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...
horse racing track and
casino
A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...
in
Grantville, Pennsylvania
Grantville is an unincorporated community in East Hanover Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Harrisburg– Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Points of Interest
* Hollywood Casino at Penn National Ra ...
, east of
Harrisburg
Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in Pe ...
. It is owned by
Gaming and Leisure Properties and operated by
Penn Entertainment
Penn Entertainment, Inc., formerly Penn National Gaming, is an American entertainment company and operator of integrated entertainment, sports content, and casino gaming. It operates 43 properties in 20 states, online sports betting in 14 jurisd ...
.
The track opened on August 30, 1972. It consists of a dirt course and a 7-
furlong
A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one eighth of a mile, equivalent to 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains or approximately 201 metres. It is now mostly confined to use in hor ...
turf course. It is unusual among United States thoroughbred tracks in offering racing 52 weeks a year. It features the $200,000 Pennsylvania Governor's Cup Handicap for horses three-years-old and up run 5 furlongs on the turf. In 2009 Cardashi, ridden by
jockey David Cora, won in a 29–1 upset.
This track is home to
Eclipse Special Award winner
Rapid Redux and his trainer David J. Wells.
In 2013 the inaugural
Penn Mile on turf was run. Its first winner was 3-year-old
Rydilluc in a time of 1:33.99. The race is now the only
Graded stakes race
A graded stakes race is a thoroughbred horse race in the United States that meets the criteria of the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA). A specific grade level (I, II, III or listed) is the ...
event at the track classified as a Grade II with stakes of $500,000 in 2017.
This racetrack has been under ongoing investigations through the years by the FBI for race fixing, which included people working in the race office, trainers and vets.
Stakes Races
The following Graded events were held at Penn National in 2019.
Grade II
*
Penn Mile Stakes
;Other Stake races
*Lyphard Stakes (PA Bred)
*Danzig Stakes (PA Bred)
*New Start Stakes (PA Bred)
*Penn Oaks
*Penn Ladies Dash
*
Pennsylvania Governor's Cup
*Robellino Stakes (PA Bred)
*Fabulous Strike Stakes
*Swatara Stakes
*Blue Mountain Stakes (PA Bred)
Casino
Hollywood Casino opened at Penn National on February 12, 2008. On July 13, 2010, table games began operation. As of July 2010, Hollywood Casino has over 2,480 slot machines and 54 tables. Table games include:14 Poker tables, Black Jack, Roulette, Craps, Pai-Gow Poker, Three and Four Card Poker, Mini-Baccarat, and Let-It-Ride. Penn National Gaming operates other casinos under the Hollywood Casino brand.
The
Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board is a governmental agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, founded in 2004 as the state licensing and the regulatory agency responsible for overseeing slot machines and casino gambling in the state.
The ...
approved a
sports betting
Sports betting is the activity of predicting sports results and placing a wager on the outcome. The frequency of sports bet upon varies by culture, with the vast majority of bets being placed on association football, American football, basket ...
license for Hollywood Casino on October 3, 2018. On November 15, 2018, sports betting began at Hollywood Casino with a two-day test; official sports betting began on November 17, 2018. Hollywood Casino became the first casino in Pennsylvania to offer sports betting.
On July 15, 2019, Hollywood Casino conducted a soft launch for
online gambling
Online gambling is any kind of gambling conducted on the internet. This includes virtual poker, casinos and sports betting. The first online gambling venue opened to the general public was ticketing for the Liechtenstein International Lottery i ...
, with the full launch occurring on July 18, 2019, after a testing period.
Online gambling offered by Hollywood Casino consists of slot machines and table games, with online poker to launch at a later date.
In the summer of 2020, the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board ruled that smoking is banned in the casino. This ensures that smoke-free gaming is possible. However, there are two covered places in front of the casino where smoking is permitted.
See also
*List of casinos in Pennsylvania
This is a list of casinos in Pennsylvania.
List of casinos
Mini casinos
In early 2018 auctions began for licenses of Category 4 mini casinos, otherwise known as satellite casinos. Although ten licenses were available, only five were sold. ...
*List of casinos in the United States
This is a list of casinos in the United States.
Lists by locale
City
*List of Atlantic City casinos that never opened
*List of Las Vegas casinos that never opened
State
Territory
* List of casinos in Puerto Rico
* List of casinos in the Unit ...
*List of casino hotels
This is a list of notable casino hotels. A casino hotel is an establishment consisting of a casino with temporary lodging provided in an on-premises hotel.
Casino hotels
* Agua Caliente Casino and Hotel
* Aladdin (defunct)
* Al Waddan ...
References
External links
*
Horse racing venues in Pennsylvania
Casinos in Pennsylvania
Grantville, Pennsylvania
Buildings and structures in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania
Sports venues completed in 1972
Casinos completed in 2008
Tourist attractions in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania
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