Where does everyone see Nebraska racing headed with the passage of casino gaming? Bigger purses/more horses and the return of a full circuit from February through October? Fonner in the spring, Lincoln will have a new 7/8th mile track, and Columbus is building a full 1 mile track. Would love to see the sport take off here in the state.
I think I've already hijacked this thread, so I'll give my thoughts. First of all, I am very glad there will be casinos in Nebraska. Sadly, many people will lose more money than they can afford, but, it never made sense to have Nebraskan's drive across the bridge just to visit the casinos in Council Bluffs.
As far as racing, the 70's and 80's were the epitome of great racing in Nebraska. Then Hal Daub and his buddies got their way and made what was a great track in Omaha go away. At the time Ak-sar-ben was one of the top 5 tracks in the entire country. Great facilities, horses, trainers, atmosphere and food.
In my view, and its only my opinion, Lincoln has never been a good town for horse racing. Not that that is not subject to change in modern day.
Columbus with a mile track could/should really upgrade. Their Ag Park, (or whatever its named) was always a cheap track. It is always near the end of the racing season in Nebraska, and by that time, it was nothing but chalk.
Fonner Park has always had a strong local following even though it is low level racing. With the County and State Fair, its a pretty nice little venue, and even though its a early season meet and has weather issues, they continue to be the top track in Nebraska.
Depending on the success of the casinos, and how much money is generated for that track, as a horseplayer, I think it makes it almost unplayable. The same exact thing happened at Tampa Bay. Ten years ago it was the top track to wager at due to large fields, lots of longshots, and generally nice weather.
Then the purses really increased and it brought in trainers like Todd Pletcher, Bill Mott and other fairly big operations were shipping their 5th and 6th stringers there and winning lots of races. Those horses looked like such strong contenders in almost every race, they either forced you to use the Pletcher, Mott, etc horse or risk getting beat by perhaps the best horse in the race.
Most of the really good handicappers eventually almost quit playing the track altogether or shifted to Gulfstream or even up north to Delaware. In other words, the money that was wagered took a real hit. There are percentages of heavy hitters that will take the 4.00 winner, but the profitable ones will only do so on occassion.
It killed the payoffs, and has really hurt the longtime trainers and connections that made the track successful for the first few years. There will always be a race track or two that has the size and type of fields that will attrack guys who play real money. Any good player plays for value, and when that value goes away, so do those players. Even when you play a race you're having to settle for a discounted return.
With simulcasting, and multiple betting sites, playing horses has never been easier. You wager from your living room, watch the race as it happens, and have almost immediate access to your winnings. No parking, no fighting the traffic, no standing in line to wager, no expensive beer, etc.
The big days, Kentucky Derby and the Triple Crown races, Breeders Cup, Dubai are all fun days to attend and put up with all the little nuisances that a lot of guys won't do on a daily basis.
So, to shed light on what the future of racing holds in Nebraska, I really don't know. The takeout for the home track for live racing is very good for that track, but the simulcasting money is only slightly more than a convenience for the local betters when the host track is not racing.
The larger tracks are constantly asking for more money to telecast their signal, when that happens the host site loses yet more money.
As primarily a simulcast player, the Nebraska circuit doesn't really affect me. But, I root for the smaller guys who work their asses off just to eke out a living and if the purse structure becomes much better, and they can inject more money into their wallets, its a really good thing overall.
I hope it works out for lots of folks, including additional tellers, vendors, waiters and waitresses. It's a tough grind for those folks, and they are involved in a business they love, in fact, in does get in your blood.
Again, sorry for the long post.
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