Last November, Colorado voters overwhelmingly defeated Amendment 68 which would have allowed a casino at Arapahoe Park racetrack in Aurora. Director of Racing Bill Powers said, “I’ve been here since 1995, and there have been three or four times we’ve tried to pass something to get alternative gaming of some kind here. It’s never passed before, so from a horseman’s perspective, it’s almost like crying wolf. We have tried before and probably thought we were going to get something passed and never did, and we kept right on running.”
He added, “There’s no doubt that alternative gaming has been the answer for a lot of places to be successful. But it should be as good a year as we’ve had lately. From a horseman’s perspective and our perspective and management’s perspective, we’re doing great. We’re certainly self-sufficient. We more than make enough money to exist.”
Powers said about 1,000 horses are expected for the 39 days of racing at Arapahoe Park in thoroughbred, quarter horse and Arabian events, running May 22 to August 16. A total of 38 stakes races in the three categories will be offered, including the $100,000 Arapahoe Park Classic for thoroughbreds August 16.
Arapahoe Park’s live race meeting is required by the state as a trade-off for allowing the company to conduct satellite wagering on races and other tracks at various outlets, its own or licensed.
The track is owned by Twin River Worldwide Holdings Inc. which is based in Rhode Island and operates a casino there—one of the reasons cited for the demise of the constitutional amendment. Shannon Rushton, executive director of the Colorado Horse Racing Association, said, “Within 24 hours after the vote failed, they had us on the phone telling us that same thing. ‘We’re not going anywhere, we’re going to be right there, the horsemen can have faith in us.'” Rushton added, “They just said that as long as this continues to be a viable property, they were staying. As long as people were going to be interested in the racetrack, they were going to be in the racetrack business.”
Colorado’s top dedicated thoroughbred breeder Linda Wood said, “I think everybody was looking forward to the amendment passing and when it didn’t, yes, there was a lot of concern. I was pretty worried. I’m still worried. I have pastures full of Colorado-breds. So if something happens to the racetrack, it’ll be catastrophic for me. There’s always the hope that if it closed, we could come back bigger and better. I’ve always thought it could be a huge success here in Colorado.”
