Bill Salina, chairman of the Cascade County Commission, said Thursday that he had "good discussions" with Merrit Pride of Twin Bridges, a horse trainer and racer, about Pride and a business partner operating horse racing for the county in 2011.
However, the parties failed to reach an agreement. That means there will be no horse racing on the seven dates that were scheduled two weekends prior to the State Fair, which runs July 29 - Aug. 6, and three days during the fair.
"Both sides of the negotiations said, 'Let's just let it rest for a year,'" Salina said. "More discussions will be considered in a year."
Horse training also has been offered at ExpoPark facilities, but Salina said that also won't happen this year without a contract with a private operator.
"Horse racing is not something — and horse training is not something — we know too much about," Salina said.
In 2009 and 2010, California-based Montana Entertainment operated races for the county. But last year it surrendered its license with the state to run simulcast betting. It also gave up operating horse racing events at Montana venues, including in Great Falls.
When it left the state, Montana Entertainment owed Cascade County $28,000, according to the county, although the parties disagreed on the size of the bill. The county eventually presented a final bill of $16,500, which was paid, Salina said.
Pride said he contacted the county after Montana Entertainment stepped aside because he wants to keep the sport alive in Montana. Pride's family raises, trains and races horses across the West.
"Racing has been a tradition there for a long, long time," he said of Great Falls. "I hate to see it go by the wayside."
Salina said the parties could not agree on a price for use of the facilities or on the length of a contract.
Another sticking point was the cost of replacing the track, which Pride said doesn't have the required 4 inches of surface in some areas. That makes it unsafe, he said.
The operator of horse racing and training at the fairgrounds also would need to supply its own equipment because the county's is obsolete, Salina said.
A marketing study of ExpoPark completed earlier this year noted that a significant portion of the fairgrounds are used for horse racing, which the county subsidizes.
"One of the questions we have to answer (is), 'Can we put something in that area just for the fair that will make us money rather than horses?'" Salina said.
He noted that an increase in different types of gambling has hurt horse racing.
"If you look across the nation, many municipalities with much larger populations than Cascade County's are having difficulty holding races," Salina said.
