Reviving horse racing at Blue Ribbon

Claremore, OK - Oct. 8, 2011 - Horse racing could be brought home to Sallisaw if horsemen and other interested parties “get their ducks in a row.”

Debbie Schauf, Oklahoma Quarter Horse Racing Association (OQHRA) executive director, met Tuesday at Western Sizzlin restaurant with a group of horsemen and others interested in returning horse racing to Sallisaw.

Schauf said it would be an uphill battle involving money and changing rules through legislation, but, “I think it will happen if you get your ducks in a row,” she said.

The group, including owners and trainers and area businessmen and women, agreed to begin with a 10-day meet, and will work on a business plan to present to the Cherokee Nation, the owner of Blue Ribbon Downs.

Horse racing at Blue Ribbon Downs ceased when the Choctaw Nation pulled out, and later sold the racetrack to the Cherokee Nation. In the meantime the Cherokee Nation bought Will Rogers Downs at Claremore and is conducting a Quarter Horse race meet there. That means horsemen in Sequoyah County and the surrounding area must travel to get to races. In an effort to bring racing “home to Sallisaw,” horsemen and business owners began meeting to determine how best to hold racing at the Sallisaw racetrack again. The racetrack is now leased to an outside party as a training facility, and many of the same horsemen train their horses there.

Organized as a steering committee, the group, for which Tony Venters, a real estate agent in Sallisaw, serves as president, spoke with David Stewart, Cherokee Nation Industries president, last month. Stewart told the group the nation would be responsive to a horse racing revival by letting the group use the old Blue Ribbon Downs. But, Stewart said, the nation would like to see a business plan first, and had no interest in conducting horse racing at the track itself.

Tonya Maxwell, real estate agent with RealCo Pros in Sallisaw and former assistant general manager at Blue Ribbon Downs, offered to draw up a business plan based on previous numbers at the Sallisaw track..

Schauf invited the horsemen to the next OQHRA board meeting Oct. 18 to discuss the possibilities of a short race meet. The meeting will be held at the Heritage Place in Oklahoma City.

But Schauf warned the horsemen that racing by the present pari-mutual rules and under the jurisdiction of the Oklahoma Horse Racing Commission would cost quite a bit — “about $56,000 a month” just to meet the rules and regulations.

Schauf urged the horsemen to work with their legislators — State Rep. John Bennett (R-Sallisaw) and State Sen. Mark Allen (R-Spiro) — both of whom have offered support at past meetings.

Schauf suggested that the legislators could seek changes to Oklahoma law, which would allow a 10-day non-pari-mutual meet at the Sallisaw racetrack.

“Raising the money will be the hardest thing,” Schauf said. “It all comes down to the dollar.”

Schauf recommended the group present their plan to the Cherokee Nation and the OHRC, along with getting legislators’ commitments and designing a business plan.

“It is good timing,” Schauf told the group, and by changing state laws to allow for the development of non pari-mutual racing, reviving horse racing at Sallisaw could be possible.

“These are choices the horsemen themselves are going to have to make. Shoot for a 10-day meet, with futurities and derbies, get your cost projections, just like for a new business, and take that to Dave Stewart,” Schauf concluded.


Read more: Sequoyah County Times