Fairmount Track to be revived

If you visit Fairmount Park Racetrack in Illinois on a Tuesday or Saturday, you are likely to notice that the stands are filled with those eager to watch the horse racing unfold. However, with just 41 live racing days in 2019, it would be fair to say that the stands empty far more often than they are filled.  

However, as gambling laws are changed and updated across the United States, new measures set to liberate the gambling industry inside Illinois could be exactly what Fairmount Track needs. 

A law has recently been passed within the state, which would see a vast expansion of the current gambling law. The bill, which has long been sought after by the state’s gambling industry, now allows racetracks to apply for a new kind of license. The new license will allow racetracks to host table games such as blackjacks and roulette, whilst also allowing slots, video games and sports betting. 

The move is likely to be exciting for Brian Zander, the owner of Fairmount racetrack.  

Competition from other casinos in the St. Louis region and video gambling terminals in Illinois slowly cut into the track’s profits over two decades, creating a domino effect. The track scaled back prizes for race winners, horse owners left for nearby states, and Fairmount cut live racing days.

“The problem is we haven’t been able to generate enough because of all the competition that we’ve had,” Zander said. “We’ve not been on an equal playing field.”

It would be fair to argue that the state has been slow to adopt to these new proposals and the gambling industry has been fighting for this measure for over 20 years. The new law stipulates Fairmount eventually run 700 races a year for the track to keep its gaming license, which translates to about 100 days of racing.

The statute also requires racetracks allot 12.75 percent of their gross revenue up to $93 million to racing purses. The percentages increase when revenues eclipse $93 million, but Zander said he does not expect Fairmount will break that barrier for a while.

However, he does expect the increased revenue to roughly double the purse amounts and to sharpen the competitive edge of the track.

“We have constantly been on the defensive, and now I think we have an opportunity to go on the offensive,” Zander said.

Others in the state are sceptical the bill will deliver on its promises. Tom Swoik is the executive director of the Illinois Casino Gaming Association, which represents nine of the state’s 10 casinos.

“There’s going to be so many new venues that basically you’re not creating many new gamblers, or any new gamblers,” he said. “You’re just moving money around from 10 casinos to 21.”