With live horse racing action starting this weekend in Sweetwater County, the owner of the company wanted to express how improvements to the live-racing facility would continue to grow the event.
The live horse racing is scheduled to take place at the Sweetwater Events Complex this Friday at 4 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m., Aug. 31-Sept. 1 and Sept. 7-8.
Eugene Joyce, president of Wyoming Horse Racing, LLC, told the Sweetwater County commissioners two weeks ago the event continues to grow, but knows in order for it to continue to grow, improvements need to be made. Those improvements include fixing the stands, building a race office, constructing a jockeys’ room, new restrooms, stables for the horses and moving the finish line and cameras to another location for safety, all of which would go a long way to improving the sport.
“We need a facility that’s up to industry norms,” Joyce said.
Even though the racing started in Sweetwater County, other cities throughout Wyoming have taken up the sport and have made improvements to their tracks and facilities, while Sweetwater County has not.
The county has received $1.6 million over the years from the historic horse racing, which utilizes terminals at off-site locations like Town Bar and Grill or Bomber’s Sports Bar in Rock Springs. Joyce asked if some of that money could come back to the sport to make the needed improvements. Larry Lloyd, executive director for the Sweetwater County Events Complex, said it’s a revenue-generating facility to the county and city and some of that money needs to come back.
Commission chairman Wally Johnson said he didn’t have a problem earmarking some of that money back to the events complex for improvements. He suggested Joyce come up with a percent or an amount, such as $200,000, for both Sweetwater County and Rock Springs to put toward the improvements. Johnson said he would leave Green River out of it at this point because the Town Bar and Grill off-track betting services are just getting started.
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