Fonner Park Fills Wagering Niche During Pandemic

When life in Grand Island, Nebraska is normal—with no disruption of daily life caused by the novel coronavirus—Fonner Park racetrack is a bevy of activity during Saturday afternoons in March and April.

"We sell out a crowd of 6,000-6,500 on all 11 Saturdays of our 31-day season," Fonner CEO Chris Kotulak said of the regular meet, during which racing is usually conducted Friday through Sunday each week before ending with the first Saturday in May and the simulcast of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1). "We look like a little Oaklawn (Park).

"There are people that will come every Saturday," Kotulak added. "It's a wonderful little sandbox up here, a great family atmosphere. I always feel I was born to promote horse racing, and there are lot of ways I can show people how they can have fun with the races or at least with their family and friends."

Like so much of the racing industry throughout the world, the regular way of life at Fonner Park underwent a dramatic change as a result of COVID-19.

After initially announcing the Fonner meet would end March 16 because of COVID-19, the Nebraska Racing Commission agreed to a trial period of racing without spectators.

Part of the non-profit Grand Island Livestock Complex Authority, Fonner Park began its 31-day meet Feb. 21, with average daily wagering of $253,000 until March 23, when the COVID-19 restrictions went into effect.

At that point with on-track crowds no longer an option, Kotulak shifted the typical Friday-Sunday schedule to Monday-Wednesday, ostensibly to take advantage of an out-of-state wagering audience clamoring for action as many other tracks throughout the country were no longer conducting live racing.

"When other tracks that normally raced those days canceled racing, the limelight became even brighter," Kotulak said. "It's a spotlight we did not expect to be cast into this year."

While conducting spectatorless racing since that date in a state that does not permit ADW wagering—all handle is coming from out-of-state—wagering has averaged $2.43 million. Those figures do not include the phenomenal $7.26 million bet Tuesday, April 5 when the track's popular Dinsdale Pick 5 Jackpot wager featured a mandatory payout pool of $4.2 million. In short, wagering is about 10 times the previous norm.

"We did it on a two-week trial basis; needless to say, we hit all our goals and it worked out well for everyone," said Nebraska Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association president Bob Moser Jr. "It exceeded my wildest expectations. Horsemen view it as a life-saver."

With COVID-19 protocols in place, horsemen and their personnel and officials are asked to wear masks and bandanas at all times when they are in public, not only when taking a horse to race or train. With a 10-horse stall paddock, there is an open stall between each horse being saddled, so the process is conducted in two different batches.

"Our post parade looks normal but the saddling protocol is unorthodox," Kotulak said. "Horsemen understand."

Despite the lack of spectators, there is some wagering on-track—averaging about $25,000 per day—as the track's Keno Casino and Finish Line Restaurant remains open, with restrictions. Those with Mbet accounts can place wagers at the Keno facility, which will not permit seating and is limited to 10 people at a time, with each patron required to leave after placing bets.

While it could be expected that such large wagering pools would produce a windfall for purses, for Fonner it is merely keeping racing alive. The track's handle commission is merely making up for revenues Fonner usually gets from its on-track business. There is no admission at Fonner but there are seating charges.

"Food, beverage, and seating charges carry us," Kotulak said of how the track makes money.  

Under racing's current business model, track purses receive a small percentage of wagering revenues, compared with the percentage retained by ADW companies for wagers on the track.

"Fonner receives roughly 3% commission for all out-of-state wagers, to which half of that goes to purses and the other half goes to Fonner Park for racing operations expenses and non-racing operations expenses, salaries, maintenance, repairs, and other costs," Kotulak said. "The upside is we're open for business. But there is no ripple effect. The horsemen have had zero deviation in the overnight purse distribution so it's like a regular meet for them. So they think it's a terrific success. I would say it's more survival than success at this point."

According to The Jockey Club Information Systems, through the first 23 days of the meet, Fonner Park's purses averaged $52,402 per day.

Even before being catapulted to the national limelight with its seven-figure handle days, Fonner already had a lot of momentum, Kotulak said, with a purse increase during the 2019 meet that raised average daily purses to its current level.

"The sobering fact about pari-mutuel handle at Fonner is there is never a race run at Fonner Park where the purse money is paid for by the commissions from the money bet on that specific race," the executive added. "Even when we have a $2.5 million day, we're talking about $40,000 that would go into purses."

In addition to its sold out Saturday crowds during the live meet, Fonner also has a strong following for its simulcasts of the Triple Crown series and the Breeders' Cup World Championships and its annual Mega Handicapping Contest.

This year the meet was scheduled to end April 29, to be followed by a 16-day meet at Horsemen's Park starting May 8. After Horsemen's Park canceled its meet, Fonner and the Nebraska HBPA agreed to a second season that would extend live racing until the end of May. The extension is subject to approval by the Nebraska Racing Commission.

Once the pandemic is over and there is some normalcy within North American racing, it remains to be seen if Fonner park will remain on bettors' radar screens but racing officials are hopeful some of those bettors stick with them, but acknowledge it's a longshot.

"To be frank, when all this pandemic gets behind us, we will just be a little side note to the 2020 racing season that Fonner Park had a $7.2 million day with a $4.2 million handle on the Pick 5 wager," Kotulak said. "For the astute horseplayer, I think we have made a good impression upon them. I think some people thought we were just a dusty bull ring in Central Nebraska. I know they will have a different opinion of us having seen some video and pictures of us. We have a nice, clean, tidy well-run track."