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Tribe to Shutter Oklahoma Pari-Mutuel Track

By Murray Evans of the Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Blue Ribbon Downs, launched nearly a half-century ago and the first pari-mutuel horse racing track in Oklahoma, will shut down for good next month because of a lack of patron support.

The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, which owns the track in Sallisaw, announced the decision Thursday. Blue Ribbon Downs, which also includes a casino that began operating in November 2004, will close after its current racing season ends Nov. 28.

The track employs about 100 people.

During the last two years, the Durant-based tribe twice tried to sell the track and entered into a contract with a potential buyer in May. Tribal spokeswoman Judy Allen said Thursday the deal "is not happening at this time."

Workers Encouraged to Move to Expanding Hotel and Casino

Allen said the Choctaws invested a lot of money in the track but that there wasn't enough support to continue. The property will remain available for sale, she said.

"We really made our best effort and we are comfortable with the decision" to close the track, she said. "This has been a long time in coming. We really have tried every measure we could think of to keep the business open because we certainly didn't want to end employment for anyone and we wanted to keep the employment in the region."

Allen said the tribe is encouraging track workers willing to relocate to Durant to apply new jobs that will become available when the Choctaw's expanded hotel and casino open next year.

Blue Ribbon Downs began running in the early 1960s and in 1984 became the state's first track to offer pari-mutuel racing. The track, located in a town of about 8,000 people in far eastern Oklahoma, has a history of financial struggles.

Announcement Followed Months of Rumors

Its former owner, Race Horses Inc., filed for bankruptcy in 1997, and again in 2002, the latter time after falling into debt with the city of Sallisaw. The Choctaw Nation bought Blue Ribbon Downs for $4.25 million in November 2003, one day before the track was to be sold at a sheriff's auction.

The track's casino also faced competition from a nearby casino operated by the Cherokee Nation.

"I knew it was coming but it's still sad to hear that it's actually reality now," said top quarter horse jockey G.R. Carter, who spent the early years of his riding career at the track. "I think of great horses like Easy Jet, Gold Coast Express and See Me Do It that raced there. I hate it for local horsemen who have put their whole life into running at Blue Ribbon Downs."

Constantin Rieger, the executive director of the Oklahoma Horse Racing Commission, said the tribe's announcement came after months of rumors that Blue Ribbon Downs might close.

"From a business perspective, I fully understand," he said. "If you'd seen their last couple of years of financial statements, you'd understand. It was upward of a million dollars a year they'd lost."

Downs Still Reeling from a Recent Tragedy

Blue Ribbon Downs also is dealing with a recent tragedy: 58-year-old jockey Mark Pace of Devine, Texas, died after falling off his mount during Sunday's first race at the track.

Track closures are unusual but not unheard of. National Thoroughbred Racing Association spokesman Eric Wing noted that Bay Meadows in San Mateo, Calif., and The Woodlands in Kansas City, Kan., both closed last year.

In Oklahoma, Will Rogers Downs in Claremore was shuttered for five years but reopened in 2006.

"It's a sad day for Oklahoma horse racing," said Oklahoma-based trainer Donnie Von Hemel, whose one Kentucky Derby entrant, Clever Trevor, raced at Blue Ribbon Downs as a 2-year-old in 1988 before making it to Churchill Downs the following May. "We were hopeful the gaming would help keep it alive but the Choctaws couldn't figure out a way to do it."

Murray Evans is an Associated Press staff writer.