Open House Wednesday for New Louisville Thoroughbred Club

A new Thoroughbred club headquartered in a historic Louisville location is set to open in 2019, and prospective members who might be interested in joining are invited to a groundbreaking open house on Wednesday, Oct. 17, from 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Although the new downtown home of the Louisville Thoroughbred Society (LTS) should be a dead giveaway considering the Churchill Downs track bugler will be heralding guests outside 209 East Main Street as the festivities begin, the club's co-founder, Gene McLean, asks that visitors first send a quick RSVP (even on the day of the event) via this link prior to attending. All are welcome.

“This is intended to be a private-membership club for people who are interested in, invested in, or are fans of Thoroughbreds, whether their focus is on breeding, racing or betting,” McLean said in a Monday phone interview. “We're looking at providing first-class amenities similar to a turf club/racetrack experience but in the setting of a vibrant, downtown business community.”

McLean is a Midway, Kentucky, native who has worked a wide array of Bluegrass-related gigs over the decades (turf writer, Keeneland Race Course press box boss, executive vice president of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association, lobbyist). He moved to Louisville about a decade ago, and came up with the concept for a horse-themed club based on his experiences at the Thoroughbred Club of America in Lexington and a visit to a downtown turf club in Buenos Aires when he was honeymooning in Argentina a few years back.

“I thought if they could have a phenomenal turf club in downtown Buenos Aires, then I thought we certainly need and should have one in downtown Louisville, the home of the Kentucky Derby,” McLean said. “So that's what kind of jump-started the whole thing. Now we're very close to making this a reality.”

It took a bit of looking, McLean said, but his business partner in the venture, Mike Schnell, eventually found an ideal downtown location for the club when he purchased the former Fetzer building, which in a bygone era housed a vertical lumber yard. LTS will be on the second floor, which will be completely renovated around appealing infrastructural charms like soaring 16-foot ceilings, exposed beams, and the massively solid original flooring.

“It's a building on the historic registry that we're bringing back to life, which is a wonderful thing in its own right,” McLean said. “And it's part of the increased business activity in downtown Louisville, particularly with the new hotels and the development of Whiskey Row and the bourbon industry. It's a very vibrant marketplace right now, and a lot of people are relocating and living downtown.”

When he tours visitors though the facility on Wednesday, McLean will ask them to envision a throwback theme reminiscent of the movie “The Sting,” except accented by an ultra-modern audio and visual system that will feature simulcast horse races and other sports programming.

The 7,500 square-foot interior will operate at concierge-level service, with bars, dining areas, and function/meeting rooms that members will be able to reserve for private use. It will also feature a premium cigar bar with a “huge” humidor, which McLean is billing as “the only one in Jefferson County.” An additional 6,000 square-foot outdoor rooftop garden and lounge area will be open seasonally.

Actual betting on the simulcast races is being viewed as a potential future perk, but not as a primary revenue-generating offering for the club, McLean said.

He explained that nearby Churchill Downs has been “overwhelmingly supportive” of the club's concept, and that it is his belief that the track (just five miles south), will consider LTS as a complement that helps in marketing the sport, not a competitor.

Betting at the club is “a step that we hope to take in the future,” McLean said. “We're hopeful that Churchill Downs and the racing commission will enable that to happen,” he added, citing a similar extension agreement that is in place between Keeneland and the Thoroughbred Club of America.

McLean said LTS plans to offer a shuttle service to and from Churchill Downs when live racing is in season.

“That's an amenity we hope to provide to our membership,” McLean said. “Particularly on major-event racing days. From the perspective of traffic and parking, it may be easier for our members to catch a shuttle from our downtown location to get them to the track and back.”

The expected opening of the club is between nine and 12 months away. There will be at least two tiers of memberships available. McLean cited ballpark costs with the caveat that pricing is not yet final.

LTS plans to sell 30 “investor level” memberships for $10,000 apiece, which will cover lifetime membership. McLean said about half of those are “already spoken for.”

Individual year-to-year memberships will likely go for $1,600 annually, with a one-time “initiation fee” of $400-500.

McLean said LTS is aiming for 800 members, and he expects to cultivate a waiting list for those who don't get in right away.

“We hope and we think we can get to that number pretty quickly. We've obviously done our market research on this. We think the supply [for a racing club] has been lacking, and we think the demand has been there,” McLean said.

Wednesday's open house will feature tours of the work-in-progress renovations, food, drinks, live music, and “a couple of other tricks we've got up our sleeves,” McLean said.