The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission voted narrowly after a five-hour meeting on Tuesday to delay awarding a license to one of three applicants for a harness track and casino in Oak Grove. The commission approved the deferral on a voice vote, but four commissioners voted against the delay and urged the commission to make a decision at the meeting. Under the approved motion, the commission will meet within the next 30 days to decide the fate of the applicants, but it is likely the decision will be made before Thanksgiving. The commission has had roughly 30 days to review the applications, which were submitted by Kentucky Downs; a partnership of Churchill Downs and Keeneland; and Caesars Entertainment, the owner of Players Bluegrass Downs in Paducah. All three envision holding short harness meets at the new facility and installing anywhere from 300 to 1,500 gambling machines known as historical horseracing machines, in a small community near Fort Campbell and the border with Tennessee, where gambling is limited. The proposals from the three applicants varied widely, with Caesars estimating that handle at its casino would be $1.7 billion a year, compared with just $230 million in the proposal from Kentucky Downs. The Churchill Downs-Keeneland partnership estimated that handle at its casino would be in the $700 million range, but that was only after revising its numbers upward from its initial application. The proposals also differed in scope, with Churchill and Keeneland expecting to spend $150 million on the track, grandstand, an outdoor amphitheater, and the gambling facility, along with a 125-room hotel. The Caesars proposal estimated a $140 million build-out, but without a hotel on the grounds. Officials for Kentucky Downs said they expected to spend $45 million, including a 125-room hotel. Commissioners repeatedly asked Caesars officials to describe the methodology in their estimate for total handle through the machines, and the officials replied that they had total confidence in the estimate, which was based on an analysis the company uses to estimate handle at its own numerous gambling properties and other casinos for which public records are available. While Kentucky Downs officials defended their own estimate as being accurate, representatives of the company also urged the racing commission to take into account the impact that a large casino in Oak Grove would have on its existing operation just 40 miles away. Kentucky Downs has operated a casino since 2012 on its grounds, and the facility is now the highest-grossing casino operation among the four in Kentucky. “There is going to be much cannibalization,” said Tom Aronson, a consultant with Racing Resource Group who spoke on behalf of the Kentucky Downs proposal. Should the commission approve the application from the other two groups, Kentucky Downs would likely have to invest additional money in its existing casino to compete with the Oak Grove facility, given the scope and design of the proposals submitted by Caesars and the Churchill-Keeneland partnership. All three of the proposals promised to contribute money to support purses at both Standardbred and Thoroughbred tracks in the state.