Two years ago the Iowa legislature approved a bill allowing state-regulated casinos without live racing to take bets on simulcasts of horse and dog races. The new rule was part of a broader bill permitting the state’s greyhound tracks to stop offering live racing. Now Wild Rose Casinos in West Des Moines will be the first to put the law into action, with simulcast racing betting offered at its casinos in Jefferson, Emmetsburg and Clinton via satellite feeds from a hub hosted by the Iowa Greyhound Association at the Iowa Greyhound Park in Dubuque.
Tom Timmons, president and chief operating officer at Wild Rose Casinos, said, “We think it would be neat to have this in for the Breeders’ Cup,” to be run at Santa Anita Park in California in November. “Otherwise, we will at least get it in by the Kentucky Derby next spring. Everybody is a race fan on Derby day,” Timmons said.
The greyhound association will receive a share of the revenues, said Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission Administrator Brian Ohorilko. “I think there will be some interest by facilities in this as long as it is a break-even proposition, or maybe to make a little money, just to have another option to offer their players,” Ohorilko added.
In Altoona, Prairie Meadows Casino, Racetrack & Hotel President and Chief Executive Officer Gary Palmer said Iowa gamblers already may legally place bets on Prairie Meadows’ live races using their smartphones, tablets or other digital devices. “If people want it and they pay the fees, then there isn’t any problem. I don’t see any downside to it” if gamblers place bets on Prairie Meadows’ horse races at other Iowa casinos.
Prairie Meadows, Iowa Greyhound Park and the Meskwaki Bingo Casino Hotel in Tama also offer wagering on simulcasts. In 2015, racing handle wagered for simulcast races at state-regulated racetracks was $23.5 million, according to the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission.
