Fanduel Sportsbook and Horse Racing, formerly Fairmount Park Racetrack, is a

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

track in

Collinsville, Illinois Collinsville is a city located mainly in Madison County and partially in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 24,366. Collinsville is approximately east of St. Louis, Missouri, and is ...

, a part of the

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

metropolitan area. The track hosts

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

flat racing Horse racing is an equestrianism, equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all spor ...

. It is one of two horse racing venues currently active in Illinois, and the only one outside the

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

metro area. The track also featured

Standardbred The Standardbred is an American horse breed best known for its ability in harness racing where they compete at either a trot or pace. Developed in North America, the Standardbred is recognized worldwide, and the breed can trace its bloodline ...

harness racing Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait (a trot or a pace). They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Australia ...

, but discontinued it in 1999. The track opened in 1925. The racing surface is a one-mile (1.6 km) dirt oval, with straight chutes for six

furlong A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one-eighth of a mile, equivalent to any of 660 foot (unit), feet, 220 yards, 40 rod (unit), rods, 10 chain (unit), chains, or a ...

and 1¼ mile races.

Ogden Corporation Ogden may refer to: Places Canada *Ogden, Calgary, in Calgary, Alberta *Ogden, Quebec, a small municipality in the Eastern Townships * Ogdensville, British Columbia or Ogden City, alternate names for gold rush-era Seymour Arm, British Columbia *Og ...

bought the track in 1969. In 2000, Ogden sold the track to Bill Stiritz, then the chairman of

Ralston Purina Ralston Purina Company was a St. Louis, Missouri,–based American conglomerate with substantial holdings in animal feed, food, pet food, consumer products, and entertainment. On December 12, 2001, it merged with Swiss food-giant Nestlé's ...

. Fairmount Park offers

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of "simultaneous broadcast") is the broadcasting of programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultaneously) ...

wagering from tracks throughout the country. It also operates four

off-track betting Off-track betting (or OTB; in British English, off-course betting) is sanctioned gambling on greyhound racing or horse racing outside a race track. U.S. history Before the 1970s, only the state of Nevada allowed off-track betting. Off-track bet ...

facilities in

Alton Alton may refer to: People *Alton (given name) * Alton (surname) Places Australia * Alton National Park, Queensland * Alton, Queensland, a town in the Shire of Balonne Canada * Alton, Ontario * Alton, Nova Scotia New Zealand * Alton, New Zeala ...

, Carbondale, Springfield and

Sauget, Illinois Sauget ( ) is a village in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States. It is part of Greater St. Louis. The population was 141 at the 2020 census, down from 159 in 2010. Geography Sauget is located at (38.587013, -90.166690). According to the ...

; a fifth OTB facility in

Grayville, Illinois Grayville is a city in Edwards and White counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 1,550, down from 1,666 at the 2010 census. Grayville is the birthplace of naval hero James Meredith Helm. Histo ...

, closed in early 2007. As recently as 1997, Fairmount Park offered as many as 232 live racing days per year. But in recent years, the track has suffered greatly with the advent of

riverboat casino A riverboat casino is a type of casino on a riverboat found in several states in the United States with frontage on the Mississippi River and its tributaries, or along the Gulf Coast. Several states authorized this type of casino in order to en ...

s in the St. Louis metropolitan area. Racing dates have declined to 90 per year, on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. In 2007, track management announced a plan to build a 20,000-seat

amphitheater An amphitheatre ( U.S. English: amphitheater) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ('), meaning "place for vie ...

at the track and expand live racing (including the reinstatement of harness racing), pending approval by state lawmakers to allow

slot machine A slot machine, fruit machine (British English), poker machine or pokie (Australian English and New Zealand English) is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers. A slot machine's standard layout features a screen disp ...

s to be installed, similar to

racino A racino is a combined horse racing track, or other live parimutuel betting facility, and casino. In some cases, the permitted form of casino gambling is limited to slot machines or video lottery terminals, but many locations also offer table ...

s in nearby locations. When the legislature did not approve slots in its regular session, Fairmount management applied to the Illinois Racing Board for 90 days of live racing, but said that if lawmakers did not approve relief for horse tracks in its November veto session, the track would only run 60 days, citing declining attendance and betting handle, competition from casinos, and overpayment of the horsemen's account for purses. The track's general manager claimed that purses at the track were less than half that of similar tracks in neighboring

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

and

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

. The request was granted with those conditions intact. Since at least 2020, Fairmount Park Racetrack has been known as FanDuel Sportsbook and Racing.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Fairmount Park web site
Horse racing venues in Illinois Buildings and structures in Madison County, Illinois Sports in the Metro East Tourist attractions in Madison County, Illinois 1925 establishments in Illinois