Petersburg’s New Casino Is Already Eating Into Virginia’s Historical Horse Racing Revenue

Virginia’s historical horse racing (HHR) machines generated 1.2 percent more revenue in July compared to the year before, a headline number that looks solid on its face. But strip out two brand-new properties that weren’t open a year ago, and the same-store picture flips hard in the other direction: adjusted grosses actually fell 11.7 percent.

The gap between those two numbers tells the real story of what’s happening in Virginia’s gaming market right now. Every HHR operation in the state is owned by Churchill Downs, and the company just picked up serious competition from a new rival digging into its core Richmond-area territory.

Historical horse racing machines have functioned as a stand-in for full casino slots in Virginia for years, filling a regulatory gap while the state’s licensed casino resorts were built out one by one. That patchwork approach is exactly why a single new property in Petersburg can move the needle so dramatically on a statewide monthly report — Virginia’s legal gambling market is still young enough that one well-placed venue can reshuffle where bettors spend their money almost overnight.

A New Casino Changes the Math

The culprit behind the sagging same-store numbers is Cordish Gaming’s Petersburg Live temporary casino, which opened earlier this year roughly 25 miles south of Richmond. Its presence is already being felt squarely in Churchill Downs’ backyard. The company’s various Richmond-area slot parlors saw revenue sink 25.6 percent to a combined $10.3 million in July, with devices averaging just $277 per day apiece — the lowest per-machine figure recorded anywhere in the state.

The pain wasn’t limited to Richmond proper. At Colonial Downs, HHR revenue plunged 24.5 percent to $3.8 million, with machines averaging $323 a day. In Emporia, revenue slid 15.9 percent to $1.8 million, with devices pulling in $385 daily. Both markets sit within reasonable driving distance of Petersburg, making them the most exposed to bettors simply choosing the new option over the road.

Where Churchill Downs Is Still Winning

Not every Churchill Downs property felt the squeeze. Two newer additions to the company’s Virginia footprint actually drove the modest headline gain. The Rose casino in Dumfries posted the strongest performance in the state, with revenue jumping 22.3 percent to $15.2 million and machines averaging $306 per day. Roseshire, a slot parlor in Henrico County, put up the highest per-machine daily average anywhere in Virginia at $501, translating to an overall gross of $2.7 million.

Properties farther from Petersburg’s reach also held up well. In Hampton Roads, Rosie’s slots rose 7 percent to $9.1 million, a $420 daily average per device. Rosie’s in Vinton grew 8.4 percent to $5.1 million with a $352 daily average, and the smaller Collinsville location posted the sharpest percentage jump in the state — up 21.1 percent to $400,000, averaging $361 per device per day.

What It Means Going Forward

Petersburg Live is still running out of a temporary tent-style facility while Cordish and Bruce Smith Enterprise build a permanent $1.4 billion resort on the same site, expected to open in late 2027 with a hotel, sportsbook, poker room and expanded gaming floor. If a temporary facility with roughly 900 slots and 30 table games is already cutting double digits out of nearby HHR revenue, the pressure on Churchill Downs’ Richmond-area machines figures to intensify once the full-scale resort — complete with amenities the temporary site doesn’t offer — comes online.

That buildout matters beyond Petersburg’s city limits. Once the permanent resort adds a sportsbook and a full 22-table poker room, it becomes a far more complete destination than any HHR parlor can match, and Churchill Downs will have to lean harder on the properties currently holding steady — like Rosie’s in Hampton Roads and Vinton — to offset whatever share of the market Petersburg continues to pull. Virginia bettors weighing where to spend their time can already compare options across the state’s growing lineup of casino apps and venues as the competitive landscape keeps shifting.

The bigger question for the industry is whether this is a temporary blip tied to a grand-opening bump or the start of a lasting redistribution. New casinos almost always draw a burst of curiosity traffic in their first several months, and July still falls within Petersburg Live’s honeymoon period after its January debut. Whether Churchill Downs’ Richmond-area numbers stabilize or keep sliding over the next two or three reporting cycles will say a lot about how much of that early surge is durable versus a one-time novelty effect.