Indiana HBPA: Heaven and Horseshoes Community Center the Type of Result When Track, Horsemen Work Together

The newly unveiled Heaven and Horseshoes worship and community center by the Horseshoe Indianapolis backstretch exemplifies what can happen when horsemen, track leadership and regulators work together.

Upon its grand opening Feb. 6, Heaven and Horseshoes became the benchmark for a track-connected facility that serves both the pastoral needs of backstretch employees but also provides a dedicated area for year-round events and activities, said Indiana HBPA president Joe Davis.

“Horseshoe Indianapolis is now a year-round facility for Thoroughbred and Quarter Horses and horsemen, with eight months of live racing and four with off-season training,” said Davis, a Thoroughbred owner and trainer. “The backstretch is truly a community, and it’s rewarding that Caesars Entertainment recognizes that and is supportive of capital projects that have put Horseshoe Indy on its upward trajectory as one of the most innovative tracks in the country.

“As the saying goes, we’re all better working together. In this case, the Indiana HBPA was proud to lockstep with the Quarter Horse Racing Association of Indiana as we collaborated with Horseshoe Indy management and the Indiana Horse Racing Commission on a project that benefits everyone.”

Caesars Entertainment funded the $1.4 million cost out of a capital fund to benefit its racing operation and donated 2 1/2 acres for the property, which will include a soccer field and a basketball court. The Indiana Horse Racing Commission must approve such expenditures out of the fund.

Heaven and Horseshoes, spanning almost 7,000 square feet, is adjacent to the enclosed backstretch, thereby providing community access. The building includes a 126-seat chapel, full kitchen, two meeting rooms, three restrooms and four offices. In addition to serving as the Indiana HBPA and the QHRAI track chaplain, Micky Sajche will oversee year-round programs and special events. While the schedule remains in the works, it is likely to include social events such as World Cup watch parties, soccer and basketball tournaments and children and family activities as well as health, life skills and educational programs.

Illustrating the benefits of racetracks working closely with horsemen, Caesars Entertainment senior vice president for racing Joe Morris notes that since Eldorado Resorts bought the much-larger Caesars (keeping the Caesars name) in 2020, Horseshoe Indianapolis’ live-racing handle has increased every year, doubling total handle from 2019 while the Indiana Derby Day card has gone “from a $2-3 million to $9.5 million last year.” During that span, the track has added a 105-stall barn, 50-room dorm, all-weather Eurocizer for training and a grandstand awning. And now Heaven and Horseshoes.

“We just really work well with our Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse guys,” Morris said. “You just can’t do enough for your backstretch workers. It’s where the rubber meets the road with this industry. If you don’t take care of them, you’re not going to get where you need to get.”

Morris called a strong and mutually respectful relationship with horsemen “critical,” praising track vice president and general manager Eric Halstrom and race marketing manager Tammy Knox as key in fostering the team atmosphere, which not only includes the two breeds but at times Horseshoe Indianapolis’ sister track Hoosier Park and its Standardbred horsemen.

“I always say we’re in a partnership with them,” Morris said of horsemen. “We provide the facility and that infrastructure; they provide the product. When you look at building handle — the No. 1 thing is handle — you have to have enough horses and races to attract the gamblers you need to bet on it. Winter training, we did that because there aren’t a lot of nearby Thoroughbred farms. These guys had to leave the state. They leave, and it’s hard to get them back in the state. We decided, with the HBPA, let’s do some winter training. So we winterized four barns – it’s seven now. We’ve gone from 300 horses to 600.”

The Indiana HBPA’s relationship with the track and its Quarter Horse brethren provides a blueprint for casino-owned tracks to prosper at a time when horse racing is struggling in many areas, said Indiana HBPA executive director Tim Glyshaw.

“Tracks and horsemen face a difficult environment under the best of circumstances,” said Glyshaw, who trained for 20 years. “But racing in Indiana is thriving, in large part because of the excellent relationship Horseshoe Indianapolis and its parent company Caesars Entertainment has with its horsemen. Instead of fighting, we’re working together on solutions and finding creative ways to get better and grow.”

Agreed Halstrom: “I don’t know how you get by anymore with horsemen and the racetrack not doing things together, whether it’s at the racetrack, purse funding, the legislature. Wherever this industry goes down the road, the ones that flourish will be the ones who work together. The leadership of the Indiana HBPA is fantastic to work with. There are ways to make this work when you trust each other. Our company is in it for the betterment of racing in Indiana, and obviously that’s the HBPA’s charter. The community center is a real example of what that means.”

Chris Duke, president of the Quarter Horse Racing Association of Indiana and owner of Elite Homes of Whiteland, Ind., wound up with his construction company building the facility after he was asked to submit a bid. He said he initially was reluctant, perceiving a potential conflict of interest, but ultimately decided, “at the same time I would put the most effort into it; I would make sure it was as quality as it could be. And they chose me.

“We just had so many residents who stay there, this was something we felt that with the capital money we had, it was the perfect thing for our backside community – and the whole community of Shelbyville,” said Duke, a Quarter Horse owner and breeder. “It’s going to get so many special opportunities to be utilized, with the location. Caesars donated the land as well, which was just unbelievable. I see the future being very bright… It’s a very healthy environment in Indiana.”

Sajche has served as chaplain for both Indiana HBPA and QHRAI for four years. He said the winter population on the backstretch increases from 200 people to 500 to 600 during the meet, including workers who live off the track. He said Heaven and Horseshoes “is a dream for helping the workers here … serving to God and serving to horsemen” as well as strengthening relationships with the Shelbyville community.

More than 100 people attended the grand opening, which featured Hall of Fame jockey Pat Day as the keynote speaker. Dan Waite, executive director of the Race Track Chaplaincy of America, said of Heaven and Horseshoes: “I’ve been to many tracks across the United States, and this is by far the best facility I’ve seen. I label this as the gold standard for future projects like this.”