And they are off! Cumberland will be running in October

And they are off! The official race to finish the Cumberland Run, a new horse track, broke ground in Corbin Monday. By this fall harness racing will be taking place and by January of next year there will be a new restaurant located at the facility. Cumberland Run joins Cumberland Mint in Williamsburg, a satellite racing venue, as big tourist attractions for our area. The two facilities are about an $80 million investment and will offer more than 200 year-around jobs.

Don Estep is publisher of the News Journal.

There were times during the past eight years, from when the race track was first announced as coming to Corbin, that doubts were starting to form as to whether it would ever happen. But it was all worth the wait for the work that has started and competition set for October. Many thanks to those who kept working for this to happen. The facilities will become huge economic engines for our area.

I got my first taste of horse racing as a freshman at the University of Kentucky in 1957. One of the guys in our dorm had a car and we loaded it up for the trip to Keeneland. What fun we had with a couple of dollars. Four of us would split a $2 bet. In the many years since then I love to go to Keeneland. I am not a gambler, but I do like to bet for the fun of it. The beauty of Keeneland and its horses are well worth reasons for attending.

Through the generosity of my boss, Terry Forcht, several years ago I attended my first Kentucky Derby. I recommend you attend the Derby at least once in your life if you can. It is thrilling and a beautiful sight.

The Forcht Group has a suite at Churchill Downs which makes the adventure even sweeter. You are walking in tall cotton there with so many celebrities attending. For example, one year we were next door to the Michael Jordan suite.

One year I was standing on the veranda just outside of the main floor and I noticed a guy standing next to me wearing a trench coat. It was something like Colombo on the old TV show would wear. It was Brent Musburger, the popular sports announcer.

Now I don’t expect Brent or Michael to come to Cumberland Run or Cumberland Mint, but there will be thousands that come to Corbin and Williamsburg for the gaming.

My wife and I lived in Henderson, Ky. for a couple of years. That was over five years ago and is where Ellis Park, a horse racing track, is located. Even on days when there wasn’t horse racing the parking lot was full. It has the same machines that will be in our local facilities. If that is any indication, then there will be plenty of activity here.

• There has been discussion about what is and is not historic buildings. Here is what is historic, Gordon Street, actually highway 312, in Corbin that has been in need of repair for over a decade. The city of Corbin recently put in nice sidewalks on Gordon Hill. It is a state road and the maintenance of it is not up to the city.

Many times we have fussed about the hole in the road at the corner of Gordon and Kentucky Streets. At few years ago there was a big hullabaloo and praising when the state put a shovel full of blacktop in that hole. More recently the road got its usual patching which makes for a bumpy ride.

If I sound irritated, well I am. Highway 312 only trails Kentucky and Main Streets in the volume of traffic. We have back roads that are in better shape than Gordon and Kentucky Streets.

The state needs to repave Kentucky Street, which is a major highway, and Gordon, Highway 312. It is long overdue!