Dover Downs facts for kids
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Aerial view of Dover Downs in 2017. The horse track is located within Dover International Speedway and the hotel and casino is the large building to the left of the track.
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| Location | 1131 North Dupont Highway Dover, Delaware |
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| Coordinates | 39°11′21″N 75°31′58″W / 39.189201°N 75.532675°W |
| Owned by | Bally's Corporation |
| Date opened | 1969 (racetrack) 1995 (casino) |
| Race type | Harness racing |
Dover Downs is a hotel, casino, and racetrack complex in Dover, Delaware. It has a .625-mile (1.006 km) harness horse racing track, which is surrounded by Dover International Speedway, a 1-mile (1.6 km) concrete track used for NASCAR motor racing events. The complex is owned and operated by Bally's Corporation (not including the speedway, which is a property of Dover Motorsports).
Primary features of Dover Downs Hotel & Casino include a 500-room hotel, dining options, over 2,700 slot machines, 40 table games, and the Rollins Center, an 18,000-square-foot (1,700 m2) multipurpose ballroom which features entertainment as well as hosting business conferences, conventions and banquets. Steelman Partners were the original architects and interior designers in 1995.
History
The horse track and the speedway opened together in 1969.
In 2002, Dover Downs Entertainment, the complex's parent company, spun off the horse track and casino as an independent company, Dover Downs Gaming & Entertainment. The former parent company changed its name to Dover Motorsports.
A hotel expansion in autumn 2007 added 268 additional rooms, including 52 suites and 11 spa suites, for a total of 500 hotel rooms. This made Dover Downs the largest hotel in Delaware. Toppers Spa/Salon opened in the hotel on December 29, 2007.
Dover Downs began a venture into the online gambling realm in late 2013.
In 2019, Dover Downs Gaming & Entertainment completed a reverse merger with Twin River Worldwide Holdings (later Bally's Corporation), a Rhode Island-based company with several casino and racetrack properties. Dover Downs shareholders were left with a 7 percent stake in the combined company.
Hotel
The hotel at Dover Downs offers upscale accommodations with rooms facing both the racetrack and the city. Amenities at the hotel include a full-service spa, fitness room, indoor swimming pool, room service, and concierge. Dover Downs offers space for meetings, banquets, conferences, and conventions, including over 40,000 sq ft (3,700 m2) of function space, the 18,000 sq ft (1,700 m2) Rollins Center ballroom, several meeting rooms, and three hospitality suites offering views of the racetrack.
Casino
The casino at Dover Downs offers over 2,300 slot machines, 41 gaming tables, and an 18-table poker room. Table games offered at Dover Downs include craps, roulette, and card games such as blackjack, Spanish 21, baccarat, three card poker, pai gow poker, high card flush, 21+3, heads up poker, and Mississippi stud.
Racetrack
Dover Downs offers live harness racing from November to mid-April and simulcasts of harness and thoroughbred racing year-round. The Race & Sports Book offers sports betting on live and simulcast horse racing along with single-game and parlay betting on professional and college sports (excluding Delaware college teams) including auto racing, baseball, basketball, boxing/MMA, football, golf, hockey, and soccer.
Dining, entertainment, and shopping
Dover Downs offers various entertainment options including entertainers, comedians, concerts, and musical acts. Entertainers and musicians that have performed at Dover Downs include Tracy Lawrence, Boyz II Men, Howie Mandel, Creedence Clearwater Revisited, and the Glenn Miller Orchestra.
Dining options at Dover Downs include upscale restaurants, casual establishments, a coffee shop, and a buffet. Dover Downs is also home to a variety of bars and nightclubs. Dover Downs offers upscale shopping at The Colonnade.
