The Mint Gaming Hall’s new SpringHill Suites hotel

FRANKLIN, Ky. – A first of its kind hotel is the newest addition to the Mint at Kentucky Downs.

“We’re 114 rooms, so we’re the first of its kind. We’re the only SpringHill, the closest outside of Nashville. Really excited about this opportunity. We’re also a custom built, so we’re not like any other SpringHill,” SpringHill Suites by Marriott Franklin Mint, general manager Christine McDaniel, says.

The hotel directly overlooks the track, and is connected to the new Mint Event Center, which is a huge drawing point for the city.

“The Mint has built it to accommodate people that will be coming here to visit them, also the races… the live races that will start the last of the month. I’m sure that there’s going to be many, many, many people that will be using it to be here for the live racing, which lasts for about two weeks,” Franklin Mayor Larry Dixon says.

The hotel is excited to be part of the community and bring racing fans closer to the action.

“We actually have gotten so many inquiries. We’ve had people that just have come to visit to see where their rooms are going to be. They want to be able to see and stay and really experience the whole race hands on instead of having to leave and go to stay at another facility or travel back home. We were able to keep people a lot longer. We’re able to have people here really enjoy themselves and make the most of this space,” McDaniel says.

The city is also looking forward to the economic boom.

“People coming in from out of state, seeing this, once they see it and they come here to participate in the machines… I’m sure they’re going to want to spend the night here or maybe more than one night… of course, that adds to our economy,” Dixon says.