A Greenup County Ky. city that once welcomed thousands of visitors to its lavish horse racetrack is off to the races again as Raceland is bustling with new businesses and developments.The Roost, a food court concept with three restaurants under one roof — Godfather’s Pizza, Hick’s Original Crispy Chicken, and Quik Chill Dairy Bar and Grill — opened in March. The location at 747 Chinn St. in Raceland is the first for this original restaurant concept created by Super Quik.
“It’s going to be a big hangout for after football and basketball games,” Tony Wilson, city of Raceland mayor, said. “It’s going to be the hub of the community really.”
Later this year, Southern Ohio Medical Center will open SOMC Raceland Family Practice and Specialty Associates near Legion Dr. and U.S. 23. The facility will offer appointments in primary
care, orthopedics and general surgery, as well as X-ray and lab services and a community pharmacy with a convenient drive thru. “This is going to serve a lot of needs,” said Wilson, who has served as Raceland’s mayor since 2023. “We also feel like it’s going to open up even more opportunity to develop that area along the highway.”
In the fall, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet is scheduled to begin work to change the traffic pattern at the intersection on U.S. 23 leading to Raceland-Worthington High School. The
restricted crossing u-turn (R-CUT) has been used successfully in a similar area in Louisville and will help ease school traffic and reduce accidents.
“There’s going to be a lot of activity going on around here, but it’s all good,” Wilson said. “It’s all progress.”
The new developments began in the summer of 2023 with the opening of the city’s splash pad, also located off Chinn St. In fact, the splash pad was the catalyst for The Roost. After it increased
business at the nearby Super Quik convenience store, the company identified the need for a place that served food.
“We had no idea how big of a splash — no pun intended — it would actually be,” Wilson said. “We really did it for the people in our community and it has become a major attraction.”
Later this year, an upgrade to the city park will begin, providing even more fun for area kids. All the current playground equipment will be replaced with ADA-compliant equipment and a safer
rubber playing surface. Sidewalks and lighting will also be added. “It’s going to be a huge draw for us,” Wilson said. “We’re going to try to plan some things around it as it continues to build.“
Other improvements in recent years include a complete renovation of the City of Raceland Community Center, which has a community room available for rent. The city also renovated the police and fire departments, as well as the city offices. While all the new development is exciting, it’s extremely important to Wilson to preserve Raceland’s history. Raceland was originally known as Chinnville, but was renamed, circa 1924, to honor the nearby Raceland thoroughbred racetrack, which operated from 1924 to 1928. Known as the “Million Dollar Oval” for its ornate appearance, the track hosted a record crowd of 27,000 visitors in 1924 at the inaugural Raceland Derby. The track was founded by J.O. “Jack” Keene, the namesake of Keeneland in Lexington.
Facing financial issues, the racetrack closed in 1928 and was sold and torn down in 1937. A Kentucky Historical Society marker at the intersection of U.S. 23 and Legion Dr. denotes the site of the racetrack.
To help preserve that horse racing history, Wilson changed Raceland’s motto to “Honoring our past and racing toward the future” and changed the city logo to include a racehorse.
“I don’t want people to forget where our namesake came from,” he said. “This is where horse racing began for this area and I don’t want people to forget that. I think it’s something we can
build on.” Wilson is also building on businesses continuing to discover opportunities in Raceland. “It’s not just a new business, it’s a new member of our community,” Wilson said. “It’s like a
family. We extend that helping hand to them and welcome them into our community and we want them to stay.”
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