Dogged Contender: SD horse racing defies the odds, despite political hurdles

The air hangs heavy, anticipation thickening as thousands of eyes peer out from the stands, fixated on the gates, on what they hope to be their lucky number. There’s no gunshot – the gates fly open in an instant, the horses running free, dust clouding their wake, cheers ringing like church bells.

It’s an age-old tradition, celebrating 75 years this year in Fort Pierre, where the Verendrye Benevolent Association has been keeping the torch lit for South Dakota horse racing, led by the passion of their general manager and the overseer of the races, Association Vice President Shane Kramme.

“I haven’t missed a day of Ft. Pierre horse racing,” Kramme said. “I’ll be 54 on Valentine’s Day, I was born on Valentine’s Day on 1970 and my grandparents and parents had me at the racetrack when I was three months old. There’s a picture of me … my grandfather holding the winning horse and my entire family with Governor Farrar. I’ve been there my entire life.”

It’s a family affair at the races. Infants and toddlers are held aloft to gaze in awe at the majesty of the horses and their riders. An old man remarks that he hadn’t seen a race since he was eight-years-old – but it’s just as exciting as he remembers. The passion of the crowd is clear to see, both from the enthusiasm of the spectators as well as the clear number of attendees. Kramme estimates there were about 1700 visitors at Saturday’s race and around 1600 for Sunday.

“On average all of our numbers were up from 2021 and 2022 this year. We had 90 horses competing for that approximately $100,000 in purses and incentives,” Kramme said. “I’m going to say our attendance was … probably 1700 on Saturday and maybe 1500 to 1600 on Sunday. It’s hard to tell because people come and go and we stop charging admittance at the third race. But judging from the parking lot, it was largely attended, it was great. The weather was picture-perfect.”

There’s a bittersweet explanation for the solid attendance, though. This isn’t just one of the oldest races in the area – the Fort Pierre race is the only one left.

“This is the event for South Dakota and unfortunately it’s the only one left,” Kramme said. “So there is this pent-up demand, it’s consolidated demand. Now we’re just down to two days, so if people want to see some live horse racing action and place a para-mutual wager, this is the time to do it. But also, as I go out to get sponsorships from the community, over 80 sponsors contributed. There is great support in Central South Dakota and, I’m going to say, the entire state of South Dakota.”

The popular support is clearly there – but the political support is not.

Damaged and Crippled

Kramme doesn’t simply oversee the races and sit on the Vandrye board – he’s also for the past five years served as a lobbyist, working for the South Dakota Horsemen’s Association, spending a good deal of that time chasing after questionably distributed funds once held in reserve for the sport.

“There was close to $6 million in funding that was swept from the live horse racing accounts … that were intended to incentivize horse racing in South Dakota,” Kramme said. “I went back and attempted to retrieve some of those funds that were ‘loaned’ on behalf of the Horseman’s Association. I was successful (in getting) $100,000 back, we intended to use it in 2019 and unfortunately that year … when we went to race … we couldn’t race because of some horrible weather conditions. There was a lot of moisture, the track was covered in snow in Fort Pierre.”

The sudden loss of monetary incentives and the realities of the weather forced some changes – moving the annual race from spring to fall, for a start. It also set the stage for what continues to be an ongoing battle, a race against competing political interests.

“What happened when that money was swept from those accounts, it kind of sent a signal to horsemen that if you want to make a living at horse racing, you’d better plan on doing it somewhere else than South Dakota,” Kramme said. “It sent a signal to all those investors and supporters … that the funding that is incoming to support horse racing is slowing down, it is dwindling.”

One of the mechanisms that fed horse racing was a tax on simulcast site wagers, a four-and-a-half percent tax that at one time was generating close to $1 million annually, back in the early 90’s. That money was to be distributed between Fort Pierre and Aberdeen, to facilitate racing. It’s called an incentive, but the reality was that this money supported the whole industry – the race, Kramme said, was a showcase of the results of that support and what the industry had produced.

“When that money was stolen, we’ll use that word – some people don’t like to hear that – but the first grab was for $900,000 and that was redistributed to the state fair to prop it up,” Kramme said. “What you see at the event is merely a showcase of what has been produced by the industry over the past year, just like the state fair is for agriculture. The mechanism is to feed the industry and support it, the event is merely to showcase what it has produced.”

Now, though, that mechanism has been sidetracked by new technologies and innovations in the gambling scene – which has exacerbated the troubles caused by the misappropriation of horse funds.

“We need to find a new mechanism that is attached to electronic gaming, which is on your phone,” Kramme said. “It’s just like online shopping. You can go on to an online paramutual wager on your phone and it’s circumventing our one simulcast site that is left. It has damaged and crippled South Dakota Horseracing.”

Shut Out

As a lobbyist, Kramme is attempting to redress the legislative issues that led to the present circumstance of South Dakota horse racing, but has found it to be an uphill battle.

“You have to remember who is at the top of the Legislative pyramid,” Kramme said. “If that gubernatorial support is absent, there’s no appetite from my legislators.”

Kramme’s gone to the legislature and even got some bills on the floor in an attempt to address the present issues plaguing the industry. However, he said that the governor herself had declined to support the matter, and that took the legs out from under them.

“It’s difficult to fight the top of that pyramid, no matter how pure your intentions are,” Kramme said. “She didn’t veto it, but she did not support it and so our legislation was killed on the Senate floor. It was delayed and then killed.”

Much like the enthusiastic crowds at the weekend’s races, there remains support in the Legislature. Kramme said that the House especially has been a good ally, instrumental in helping him get back the $100,000 of that “stolen” $6 million. He’s determined, no matter the odds against him, to make a comeback.

“The whole thing’s been a comeback,” Kramme said. “Comebacks are tough, they really are. It’s a lot easier not to get behind and stay in front than it is to make a comeback, but we’re going to … keep this light on for South Dakota horseracing. We’re going to fight hard, we have a lot of great people, a lot of great supporters and my board members that support me and my ambition.”

He said that the Horsemen’s Association is going to continue to address these challenges, looking into other avenues for raising money in lieu of a new tax mechanism. He’s going to keep the Fort Pierre races going as well, though he acknowledges that finding the young jockeys who want to take up the sport, at least here in South Dakota, is another issue that’s emerged from the dwindling financial support.

“There’s not nearly as many horsemen as there used to be,” Kramme said. “Because everybody follows the money and quite frankly there’s not a lot of reason for younger people to get into racing when there’s no incentive. It kind of follows the money.”

Still, there’s never a sure bet in a horserace, and the come-from-behind victories are the very stuff that make legends on the track. Kramme’s eyes are fixed solely upon the finish line.

“We’re going to keep our head up, we’re going to run hard and try hard,” Kramme said. “The odds are high, but don’t bet against me.”