Fans welcome horse racing’s back to Les Bois Park

July 3, 2011 - After three years of false starts, false hopes and, ultimately, no live events, horse racing returned to Les Bois Park on Saturday evening.

So did the spectators.

Did they ever.

A record crowd of 7,643 showed up for the first live races since August 2008 at the Ada County facility, where some questioned if horses would ever run again.

It felt like everyone who didn’t get out of town for the holiday weekend decided to check out horse racing.

Reserved and box seats in the Turf Club and the bleachers were sold out in advance, hinting at the level of interest in Opening Day. But no one — including the operators — expected the flood of fans that showed up.

By the time the gates opened at 4:30 p.m., a long line had formed. When Idaho jockey Dirk Crane crossed the finish line aboard Aguascalientes in the first race, the line still stretched far into the parking lot, inching closer to Westy’s Garden Lanes. At that point, officials abandoned the $2 admission charge, opened the gates and let the patrons in.

“Talk about a good business decision,” said Meridian’s Greg Corrie, who attended the races with his wife, Lisa. “The fans were happy. You don’t see that anymore.”

It’s doubtful those $2 remained in fans’ pockets. Lines for wagering, food and drink crisscrossed the concourse underneath the bleachers. Fans loaded up on a single trip, hoping not to have to return.

General manager Doug Okuniewicz said the operators were taking notes Saturday, eager to fix any mistakes they made Opening Day.

“We’ll improve 100 percent by Monday. We didn’t have enough outlets for all the product people were looking for. We didn’t have enough entry points for people to get in, so the lines got too long,” he said.

“Those are a few things that we’ve got to fix, but most everything has gone really well.”

Still, there were few complaints — even for those that got stuck in the lines.

“It’s great. It’s just wonderful. I couldn’t even bet the last time. I got cut out down there,” said 85-year-old Dennis Heitman of Meridian.

Heitman, who used to own horses that ran at Les Bois and hopes to do so again, had four generations of family members at the track Saturday night, including two great-grandchildren. There were toddlers in strollers and youngsters on the fence or in their parents’ arms. There was an older crowd — and a much older crowd — that filled the bleachers, that brought their own lawn chairs, that milled around with beers.

Most groups had someone with their head buried in the race program, figuring out whether to place their bet on Jumpn Too or A True Southern Bet or A Magic Cash Machine.

“We hit it just right on the day to open,” Okuniewicz said. “People were ready to do some stuff this weekend. It’s a good day to be the only game in town.”

Opening Day proved people are interested in horse racing in the Treasure Valley — an open question just a few months ago — and provided validation for the local investors who worked so hard to bring it back.

The big question is what happens when Les Bois isn’t the only game in town or when it isn’t a glorious day at the beginning of a three-day holiday weekend.


Read more: Idaho Statesman