Remington Park celebrates 35th year, big economic impact for Oklahoma
OKLAHOMA CITY – Remington Park’s 35th season of horse racing is officially underway.
The Oklahoma Horse Racing Commission Initiative, State Question 553, was approved by voters in September 1982, creating the body and authorizing pari-mutuel wagering on horse races.
Oklahoma’s first legal pari-mutuel races took place at now-defunct Blue Ribbon Downs in Sallisaw in 1983.
Remington Park, the state’s first world-class horse racing venue, came to be in 1988. Shopping mall developer Edward DeBartolo Sr., who owned Louisiana Downs in Bossier City, Louisiana, and Thistledown in Cleveland, Ohio, saw a need for a track in central Oklahoma and initiated construction on Remington Park in 1986. Completed at a reported cost of more than $90 million, it opened for its first races on Sept. 1, 1988.
“At first Remington Park was just thoroughbreds, and then the quarter horses essentially came into the action in 1989, and that was fully the plan. It was always meant to be a racetrack for both breeds,” said Dale Day, track announcer at Remington Park.
Thoroughbreds, Day said, are bred to race longer distances, all the way up to a mile-and-a-half, or 12 furlongs. The quarter horse is built for straight-away speed, with race lengths ranging from 250 yards to 870 yards, though most of those races are up to 440 yards.
Day said betting on horses can be done in person or online in states where it’s legal. Straight wagers, or bets on single horses, have a $2 minimum. A show bet means the horse must finish at least third, a place bet will collect on first or second place, and a win, the most traditional bet, requires a first-place result to pay out.
Remington Park added casino gaming to the mix in 2005 through State Question 712, resulting in increased horsemen’s purse accounts and securing the future prosperity of horse racing and its breeding in the state.
Since 2005, Remington Park has provided more than $315 million to the state of Oklahoma’s general education fund, according to a release.
Day said the addition of casino gambling was crucial to Remington Park’s survival.
“Remington Park, along with the horse groups, did some studies, and it was determined about 60,000 people in Oklahoma earn some of their income in the horse racing business in Oklahoma. It’s a major economic situation, should Remington Park not be here, there’d be no horse racing basically in Oklahoma.”
Now in its 35th racing season, Day said Remington Park is thriving. The park is scheduled to run 67 days of races through Dec. 15 with a minimum of 600 races in the thoroughbred season.
The next big event after opening night is Oklahoma Derby Day, which takes place at 3 p.m. Sept. 24. It’s the park’s only Sunday racing day of the season. The annual event holds 10 stake events in 12 different races.
“The Oklahoma Derby is our richest race of the season at $400,000, and it’s a graded race, which means it’s one of the top 500 races in North America,” Day said. “It’s a big day.”
Races receive a grade depending on their importance to the overall thoroughbred racing landscape in North America. Oklahoma Derby Day boasts two grade-three races: the Oklahoma Derby and Remington Park Oaks.
Day said other activities that Sunday include the Derby Day hat and bowtie contest and the Derby Day Wine Festival, which features tastings of several Oklahoma-based wineries.
The most important day for the state, Day said, is the Oklahoma Classics, the state-bred horse event that takes place on Friday Oct. 20. It’s a 10-race card worth more than $1.1 million. The $175,000 Classics Cup is the premier race of the event.
The final day of the season, Dec. 15, is the Springboard Mile, the top 2-year-old stakes event. It’s also a Kentucky Derby qualifying points race.
Day said he’s hoping for a big season.
“We’re excited to welcome the fans back, and we want to remind everybody that parking and admission is free, so you’re not out any money to come and join us at the races,” Day said.
