One Hundred Years In, the Best May be Yet to Come at Fairmount Park

[Wandering Eyes]

They've been racing at Fairmount Park, which opened its doors for business on Sept. 26, 1925, now for 100 years. For most of those years, the odds have been stacked against the little track in Collinsville, Illinois. Tracks without revenue from casinos and with a poor racing product usually don't last that long. But for all those years, Fairmount kept grinding away. For horsemen and track owners, it was a battle to survive.

But survive they did and now Fairmount has a new lease on life and there are reasons to be optimistic about its future.

“The horsemen that have remained here and have remained in the business are very strong and very loyal to our program,” said Jim Watkins, the president of the Illinois HBPA. “They've shown a lot of  stick-to-itiveness. They've been resilient and now they have been rewarded.”

Year 100 begins Tuesday at Fairmount Park. The first change people will notice is that the name of the track has reverted to Fairmount Park. When owned by FanDuel, it was called FanDuel Sportsbook and Horse Racing, a cumbersome and awkward name that no one seemed to like. The name has been changed because FanDuel has sold the track to Accel Entertainment, the largest operator of video gaming terminals in Illinois. They may not have bought the place because they wanted to run a racetrack. They wanted a casino. But, according to Fairmount General Manager Vince Gabbert, Accel is dedicated to improving the racing side of the business and has earmarked $25 million for racetrack-related projects. Accel does not own any other racetracks.

“I think they are bullish on racing in the right environment as a way to grow their portfolio,” said Gabbert, who comes from Keeneland, where he was the vice president of strategic initiatives and legislative affairs.

Watkins has also been impressed by the Accel team.

“The new ownership group is dedicated to, not only improving things when it comes to the casino, but also the horse racing end of the business,” he said. “Without question they care about racing. The leadership, they've been here since Day 1. They came here to evaluate things and left no stone unturned to see what can be improved. Then they ventured from coast to coast looking at other tracks and what they liked about them. They were especially pleased with Oaklawn. They said that they really liked how the gaming and racing are intertwined. In the permanent facility, they're looking to do something that will model Oaklawn Park.”

A temporary casino that will be situated in the grandstand is close to opening. Gabbert said that after the meet ends in mid-November, work will begin on a permanent casino. At this meet, purses will remain small, about $100,000 a day. But Gabbert said that once the casino is up and running, purses should gradually reach the $250,000-a-day level.

“I'm hoping that we stabilize at 50-60 race days a year,” he said. “I'd love to be at $250,000 a day in purses. We're just a tick above $100,000 now. So in five years, it's very feasible for us to be at $250,000 a day.”

A total of $125,000 will be paid out in purses on opening day.

One thing they won't have to worry about is the live handle. Fairmount is located about 10 miles from St. Louis. Despite the lower level of racing that it has been offering, Fairmount has always been supported by the local community.

“It's really a testament to the community and our fan base,” Gabbert said when asked how Fairmount had survived as long as it has. “One of the things that really amazed me when I made my first trip here last fall was that I came on a Tuesday afternoon and there were probably 4,000 people here. There are some tracks that would kill to have that crowd on a Saturday afternoon. The fact that the fans and the locals were so supportive of this place is one more thing that gave me a real sense of optimism about its future.”

Fairmount's new management team could easily sit back and watch the casino money roll in while ignoring racing. More often than not, that's how it works when a gaming company buys a racetrack.

Scott Becker, the top trainer at Fairmount, doesn't see that happening.

“The new group has come in and is willing to invest to make the product better,” he said. “We couldn't be happier. We need to build some more racing days, but right now we've got a pretty good band-aid on the product.”

Gabbert is focused on improving the racing product and the fan experience. Among other things, he said he will look to build a turf course. He wants to put in fixed-odds wagering and to also work with Hawthorne and Canterbury Park to have a three-track circuit.

“One of the great things about racing at this level is that it gives you the ability to try some stuff that you might not do at larger tracks,” Gabbert said. “Things I certainly wouldn't have tried or advocated for when I was at Keeneland. I would love to really push fixed odds. Especially in these more-educated and more-fervent markets, that people know they can get 7-1 on Thursday on a horse that will be 2-1 when the gates open is appealing to people. You do some things and if they work, everyone adopts them. If they don't, you scrap it and go to the next thing.”

Fairmount will race on Tuesdays and Saturdays and the meet concludes Nov. 16. The highlight of the meet will be the Sept. 19 St. Louis Derby, which has a purse of $250,000.

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