INDIANAPOLIS — Construction at Hoosier Park continues to be on time and on budget, Rick Moore, general manager of racing at Hoosier Park, reported to the Indiana Horse Racing Commission on Monday.

Hoosier Park received 4,000 applications for the 500 to 600 jobs being created from its expansion into a casino, Moore said.

Most of the applications came from residents in Anderson and Delaware County, he added.

Another casino under construction, Indiana Live, formerly Indiana Downs and located in Shelbyville, also reported that more than 3,000 applications came in for jobs at its facility.

As Hoosier Park prepares for its opening in the first week of June, final preparations are being made on the floor of the casino. A representative from the Indiana Gaming Commission is on site overseeing the project, Moore said.

“Eighteen hundred slots are on site and have been delivered,” he said. “It is very impressive.”

Billboards for the opening stating “We will thrill you” and other enticing phrases can be seen throughout the central portion of the state, and television and radio advertisements began Monday, Moore said.

Indiana Live will open its temporary facility the same week as Hoosier Park opens.

In anticipation of the opening of both racetrack-casinos, Hoosier Park is experiencing a high amount of interest from horsemen who want to get their feet wet on Indiana tracks, Moore said.

Hoosier Park requested to add a race on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays to deal with a backlog of horses. Moore said the track has seen up to 200 horses in a day.

“We’re getting backed up in the race office with horses who don’t race as much as the horsemen would like,” he said. “A lot of horsemen want their foot in Indiana as the purses rise.”

The commission unanimously agreed to allow the track to add one race to each of the three days, making a total of 13 races each day. The track races 10 horses at a time during standardbred season, and most races are full, Moore said.

With the additional races, Hoosier Park will be open about 20 minutes later on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Sundays, Moore said.

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