The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) has announced that Kentucky Downs, in Franklin, 35 miles north of Nashville, Tennessee, has earned reaccreditation from the NTRA Safety and Integrity Alliance.

Originally opened in 1990 as the steeplechase venue Dueling Grounds, the mile-and-five-sixteenths turf course was renamed Kentucky Downs in 1998. In 2007 it was purchased by a group of investors who helped to add Historical Horse Racing games that have increased purse money to unprecedented levels. September’s 2015 race meeting set new records for handle ($16.8 million), single day handle ($5.07 million), purses paid ($6.6 million), and average field size (10.6 horses per race).

Kentucky Downs’ reaccreditation was the culmination of a lengthy process that began with the track’s completion of a 48-page written application and continued as the track hosted several meetings with alliance officials. An on-site review included inspections of all facets of the racing operations. Interviews were conducted with track executives, racetrack personnel, jockeys, owners, trainers, veterinarians, stewards, and regulators.

The inspection team was comprised of Jim Gates, consultant and former general manager of Churchill Downs; Ron Jensen, DVM, former equine medical director for the California Horse Racing Board; Mike Kilpack, security and integrity consultant and past chairman of the Organization of Racetrack Investigators; and Steve Koch, executive director of the NTRA Safety and Integrity Alliance