The Christian County Chamber of Commerce celebrated their accomplishments in the past year, handed out awards and heard from representatives of the horse racing industry at the annual dinner Tuesday.
There were multiple speakers at this dinner, including Keeneland President Bill Thomason, Vice President Vince Gabbert and Senior VP of Church Hills Down, Inc. T. Kevin Flanery. They were asked several questions in a forum type style by moderator Elizabeth McCoy.
They spoke at length about the possibility of constructing a horse racing track in Oak Grove, which was announced in 2017. Flanery says Christian County has a tremendous amount of opportunity to offer, and anyone who doesn’t see that isn’t paying attention.
Flanery says the proposed track could bring 150 jobs to the area while expanding the two companies brands into western Kentucky.
At this moment, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission has not approved the application for a license to build the race track submitted by Church Hill Downs and Keeneland.
Chamber President Kelli Pendleton spoke about successes in the last year, including the new signage that was unveiled for I-169, the success of the total solar eclipse and multiple ribbon cuttings and tourism advancements.
The Christian County Young Professional of the Year Award went to Hopkinsville Fire Department Captain Michael Pendleton, Tammy Lamb took home the Bob Kelso Ambassador of the Year Award and the President’s Award went to Janet Calhoun.