Grand Opening for Heaven and Horseshoes Community Center held at Horseshoe Indianapolis

Heaven and Horseshoes, A Worship and Community Center, held its official grand opening Friday just outside the entrance to the backstretch area at Horseshoe Indianapolis.

More than 100 people were in attendance to officially launch the new facility set to accommodate numerous events and activities throughout the year for those involved in racing.

The grand opening program kicked off with a ribbon cutting ceremony at the front of the chapel. Those involved in the ceremony included Joe Davis, President of Indiana Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (HBPA), Chris Duke, President of Quarter Horse Racing Association of Indiana (QHRAI), Mike Speedy, Secretary of Business Affairs for the State of Indiana, Eric Halstrom, Vice President and General Manager of Racing at Horseshoe Indianapolis, Jessica Barnes, assistant executive director for the Indiana Horse Racing Commission, Brian Elmore, former executive director of Indiana HBPA, and Micky Sajche, Chaplain for both Indiana HBPA and QHRAI.

Sajche then held a special prayer and blessing over the building in Spanish translated to English by his wife, Pastora Johana Sajche Doliveira. Duke, whose construction company provided the work for the project, commented on behalf of the Quarter Horse racing community.

“This is a great day and I’m very proud to be part of the committee to get this passed,” noted Duke. “This is a fantastic addition to our racing community and will provide a lot of special opportunities. This building is another step forward to make Indiana racing the top in the country.”

Davis, who is a Thoroughbred trainer, provided input from Indiana HBPA at Horseshoe Indianapolis.

“This facility turned out better than I think any of us imagined,” added Davis. “It will assist us in better serving our horsemen and women throughout the year.”

Barnes commented on the project, noting the continued work each entity has done to boost the Indiana racing program.

“As an employee of the Commission since 1999, we have seen the industry grow farther than we could have imagined,” said Barnes. “As the regulatory organization, we are charged with conducting a level higher than any other with racing, and we have accomplished that by working together. A project like this couldn’t happen without it and we continue to see tremendous growth.”

Joe Morris, Vice President of Racing at Caesars Entertainment, spoke of the process and collaboration of all groups to get to the creation of Heaven and Horseshoes.

“The key word here is collaboration,” said Morris. “And beyond working together, we look out for each other, both here and at the other track (Harrah’s Hoosier Park) in Anderson. There are really four parts that come together and includes Caesars and the racetracks, the Thoroughbred organization, the Quarter Horse organization, and the regulators (Indiana Horse Racing Commission). The results we have seen are like no other in the country. It is a pretty special soirée.”

Morris went on to explain the process taken for the building, noting Caesars Entertainment put aside some money for capital investments and improvements. Together, all groups sat down and identified a need, and it was designed for the backstretch community.

Speedy, who was in attendance from Governor Mike Braun’s office, congratulated everyone involved in bringing the Community Center to fruition. He noted there is no place to strengthen a community better than a community hall.

Pat Day then provided the keynote speech to the crowd, giving insight into his path to becoming a Hall of Fame jockey. He noted the bumps along the way, finding success almost instantly. He quickly found out happiness was not in winning races or becoming the top jockey in North America. Day learned regardless of how many races he won, he was always looking for the higher high.

After personal reflection and seeing his riding career was a tremendous accomplishment, Day didn’t know what his purpose was and almost self-destructed. He was eventually led to serve the Lord, and it gave him newfound purpose as a jockey for the final 20 years of his riding career that included 8,803 wins, including the 1992 Kentucky Derby aboard Lil E Tee, one of nine Triple Crown wins during his career.

Upon retirement, Day began working closely with the Racetrack Chaplaincy program and got involved closer to home with the Kentucky branch of the organization. Through his expertise and time, he has assisted in moving the program to the next level. Seeing the new chapel in Indiana has given him restored faith the organization is moving in the right direction.

“It’s a joy to be with you all and I’m excited the industry has embraced the chaplaincy,” added Day. “I’m also excited to see what will take place in this building. I believe hearts will be won here in the name of Jesus.”

In addition to the 126-seat chapel, Heaven and Horseshoes offers a full kitchen, two meeting rooms, three restrooms, and four offices. The $1.4 million project, funded by Caesars Entertainment, sits on two and one-half acres. The first worship service conducted by Chaplain Sajche is set for 5:30 p.m. Sunday, February 8 and is open to the public.

Also during the program, Senator Mike Crider made a special presentation to each of the breed organizations from a recent resolution unanimously passed by the Indiana General Assembly. The resolution recognized the tremendous impact the horse racing industry has across all 92 counties and its continued impact on Indiana’s economy as an arm of agriculture. State Representative Ethan Lawson assisted with the presentation to representatives of Thoroughbred, Quarter Horse, and Standardbred racing.

“This is a beautiful facility, and I’m extremely impressed of the continued support and investment into racing,” said Senator Crider. “It was very easy to join in on this resolution as we see the impact.”

Several special guests were in attendance from the Racetrack Chaplaincy program, including executive director Dan Waite, who commented, “I’ve been to many tracks across the United States, and this is by far the best facility I’ve seen. I label this as the gold standard for future projects like this.”