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View Full Version : Fairmount to be bought by casino queen


cordep17
05-26-2015, 08:11 PM
http://m.stltoday.com/business/local/casino-queen-plans-to-buy-fairmount-park/article_52b01ccb-9b77-5309-913b-1f1ed9cf9862.html?mobile_touch=true

Good or bad for Fairmount? I haven't followed the racino discussions much, and speaking from the perspective of this being the only track I visit, I hope it's a good thing. Race days have significantly been cut this season. Purses are low as usual, and the level of racing is pretty close to the bottom of the barrel, the place isn't very visually appealing and had a pretty basic setup. Still though. I call it home and being from Missouri I don't have any other alternatives besides OTBs to handicap. I hope this is for the best.

Hoofless_Wonder
05-27-2015, 02:06 AM
Still needs the Illinois legislature to approve slots at the tracks before the sale of Fairmount would go through, but that is probably going to happen. Perhaps too little, too late to have much of an effect on the racing at FP.

I've never understood why Missouri, with two large cities on its border and losing business to Illinois and Kansas, never legalized parimutuel wagering. Now that St. Louis has other legal casinos, it's harder to make the trip to the east side just to bet the horses too.

Many would argue racinos are not good for racing, but as long as Fairmount has the only racing and OTBs downstate, maybe they'll generate enough revenue to stay open. If Missouri ever passes a law allowing ADW wagering though, then it's probably game over....

cordep17
05-27-2015, 03:07 PM
That's interesting about what you think ADW would mean for Fairmount. I've always wanted it, and the immediate thought that I got was that Fairmount is missing out on revenue, or mine at least, because it'd be a lot more realistic to play the races multiple times in the week if I could do it from the comfort of my own home with all my internet resources right at my fingertips...

Now I'm thinking that assuming FP is available to everyone with an ADW account in the country, their currently low pools mean people just put their money on better tracks. Would be good for the industry if more money were in the pools in general, but probably bad for FP, whose handle still comes largely from those @ the track.

zico20
05-27-2015, 07:05 PM
That's interesting about what you think ADW would mean for Fairmount. I've always wanted it, and the immediate thought that I got was that Fairmount is missing out on revenue, or mine at least, because it'd be a lot more realistic to play the races multiple times in the week if I could do it from the comfort of my own home with all my internet resources right at my fingertips...

Now I'm thinking that assuming FP is available to everyone with an ADW account in the country, their currently low pools mean people just put their money on better tracks. Would be good for the industry if more money were in the pools in general, but probably bad for FP, whose handle still comes largely from those @ the track.

Actually, if you look at the pools at FP, the handle is two to three times greater on Tuesday than on Friday or Saturday night. The reason is people across the country are betting Fairmount much more than they do on the weekends. This has been consistant for years now. That is why FP runs on Tuesday afternoon. The handle from out of state is far greater. The on track handle is basically the same all three days of the week.

zico20
05-27-2015, 07:15 PM
http://m.stltoday.com/business/local/casino-queen-plans-to-buy-fairmount-park/article_52b01ccb-9b77-5309-913b-1f1ed9cf9862.html?mobile_touch=true

Good or bad for Fairmount? I haven't followed the racino discussions much, and speaking from the perspective of this being the only track I visit, I hope it's a good thing. Race days have significantly been cut this season. Purses are low as usual, and the level of racing is pretty close to the bottom of the barrel, the place isn't very visually appealing and had a pretty basic setup. Still though. I call it home and being from Missouri I don't have any other alternatives besides OTBs to handicap. I hope this is for the best.

This is great news for Fairmount. The track has been losing money for years and the GM Brian Zander has said on multiple occasions that Fairmount is in jeopardy of closing down without slot revenue. He said that if Fairmount can get slots that he envisions the track running from March through November. Fairmount can almost double the number of racing days with slots he has said.

I would not hold my breath that Fairmount will have purses like Praire or Indiana Downs, but they will most certainly go up significantly. Currently, the bottom level purse is 3200 to 4000. That should double in the near future.

This is also great news for the Casino Queen. They don't have to worry about their market share going down if FP would have gotten slots on their own. BTW, if anybody from out of town ever visits St. Louis and wants to go to a local casino, the Queen is by far the most customer friendly on all accounts. Stay away from the Missouri casinos, the people that run them are absolute idiots.

zico20
05-27-2015, 07:27 PM
Still needs the Illinois legislature to approve slots at the tracks before the sale of Fairmount would go through, but that is probably going to happen. Perhaps too little, too late to have much of an effect on the racing at FP.

I've never understood why Missouri, with two large cities on its border and losing business to Illinois and Kansas, never legalized parimutuel wagering. Now that St. Louis has other legal casinos, it's harder to make the trip to the east side just to bet the horses too.

Many would argue racinos are not good for racing, but as long as Fairmount has the only racing and OTBs downstate, maybe they'll generate enough revenue to stay open. If Missouri ever passes a law allowing ADW wagering though, then it's probably game over....

Actually, Missouri does have pari mutuel wagering. Back in 1984 the voters approved it with 60 percent in a state wide ballot. In 1995 the legislature disbanded the horse racing commission for a lack of interest.

One more thing. About Missouri getting ADW, that would greatly benefit Fairmount. More people would be able to bet on Fairmount from home instead of driving to the track.

Prairie Bettor
05-27-2015, 07:40 PM
Actually, Missouri does have pari mutuel wagering. Back in 1984 the voters approved it with 60 percent in a state wide ballot. In 1995 the legislature disbanded the horse racing commission for a lack of interest.
.

I remember betting at Sedalia Missouri in the late 80's. If I remember correctly they ran Harness and either quarter horse or thoroughbreds on the same card.

zico20
05-27-2015, 09:34 PM
I remember betting at Sedalia Missouri in the late 80's. If I remember correctly they ran Harness and either quarter horse or thoroughbreds on the same card.

Funny you should mention that. I was also there in the late 80s. They ran harness racing in Sedalia during the Missouri State Fair. I went down there because every race it seems was won by the favorite. I once put a 200 dollar quinella on a race. The young teller girl was shocked when I said 200 bucks. The quinella came in but paid only 2.60. The pools were so small I dropped it from 6.00. I didn't make another bet that large the rest of my trip.