Fair horse racing future uncertain

It’s not yet known if horse racing will be a part of this year’s Northwest Montana Fair, according to Flathead County Fairgrounds Manager Mark Campbell.

Campbell has had several conversations with people who planned to stage races the afternoons of Aug. 18 and 19 and they’ve told him that money they’ve received in the past from the Montana Board of Horse Racing is no longer available. Without that cash, the group is assessing whether it can pull off the races, he said.

Several calls from the Inter Lake to three people involved in organizing prior local horse races were not returned.

Ron Thibert organized a meeting earlier this month to discuss the horse races and after that meeting he told Campbell the group would let fair officials know of their plans in early February.

Campbell remains optimistic that the local group can put together the racing program. But, if that’s not the case, he and Fair Board members want adequate time to come up with another fair offering to bring people to the fairgrounds on the final weekend of the fair.

“I’m feeling somewhat comfortable that they will do some races,” Campbell said Thursday.

Campbell expects horse racing to be a discussion item at the board’s Feb. 16 meeting.

“I’d love to have horse racing during the fair,” Campbell said, “but the county won’t fund it.”

Fair officials have become used to the attendance horse races bring to the fair, Campbell said. While he wasn’t able to get a 2011 head count from race organizers, based on gate traffic he estimated the horse races drew between 2,500 and 3,500 people last summer.

Horse races historically have been part of the Northwest Montana Fair, but were not held in 2007, 2008 or 2009.

The Western Montana Turf Club won’t hold races during this summer’s Western Montana Fair in Missoula. No races were held in Missoula last summer, either.

Missoula race organizers cited the absence of funding from the Montana Board of Horse Racing as the reason for canceling the races. That board previously has distributed some of the revenue generated from simulcast betting to tracks that hold live races.

The state racing board is no longer operating its off-track betting sites as it tries to get out of debt.

Last October, Gov. Brian Schweitzer appointed an advisory committee to work with the Department of Livestock to revamp the racing board’s operations. He appointed Department of Agriculture Executive Director Christian Mackay, Department of Commerce Executive Director Dore Schwinden and state Sen. Cliff Larsen of Missoula to that committee.

The Board of Racing was removed from the auspices of the Department of Commerce and placed under the Department of Livestock a few years ago.

Reporter Shelley Ridenour may be reached at 758-4439 or sridenour@dailyinterlake.com.