Do something to stem racing losses

The odds aren't looking good right now for horse racing to continue at the Northwest Montana Fair.

Flathead County commissioners, rightly concerned about what has become a tradition of economic losses, are considering chucking horse racing altogether.

Eventually that might be the right move, but it would be a shame if the commissioners did so before there's a final, all-out attempt to make the races a success. The races have lost $194,000 of county taxpayer money in just the last four years, and the worst part of that loss is the races pretty much seem to be the same old thing, year after year.

Any enterprise that has a problem with its product will usually attempt an overhaul before calling it quits. It seems that horse racing, a traditional attraction that has lasted throughout the fair's 103-year history, deserves the same.

In this case, members of the horse racing community - those who benefit from an outright county subsidy - need to ante up with ideas and incentives to make the races more attractive with better numbers for the county.

And ultimately, the Fair Board needs to enact something - anything - to improve the product. Sticking with the same old races, with no improvements, no changes, no adjustments, isn't worth it anymore.

The Fair Board could, for example, reconsider having a beer garden at the races. There has been general agreement that doing so would draw more people and a bigger handle to the races, which can be slow because of lag times between races. The board has rejected the idea of selling beer at the fair in the past, largely out of a desire to protect the family atmosphere of the county fair. Fair enough.

Then how about reducing the waiting time between races? Or how about bringing in additional entertainment? Or more in-between-race contests or drawings, or a beefed-up marketing effort to attract people to the races?

Commissioner Joe Brenneman said he's willing to consider offers from private enterprises to manage and operate the races.

Something should be tried.

The Cascade County Commission, faced with similar economic losses, has decided to give racing at the State Fair one more year, only this time cutting three slow days off a traditional 10-day schedule to curb losses.

One problem with ditching the races in Kalispell is there's no way to quantify the overall economic loss if the horse racing community - jockeys, owners, trainers and fans - goes away. And there's no real guarantee that any replacement attractions, such as concerts, will be any more profitable or provide similar overall economic benefits.

At the same time, the commissioners cannot continue to support an outright subsidy for a losing operation.