Members of the state Racing Commission on Tuesday approved a 255 race-day schedule for greyhound racing at Mardi Gras Racetrack and Casino in Nitro in 2018, but postponed a vote to authorize $1.2 million in purses for the Charles Town Classic thoroughbred races next spring.
Commissioner Ken Lowe Jr. objected to the size of the race-day purses, saying the money could be better spent for long-term improvements at the eastern panhandle track, perhaps to extend the three-quarter mile track to a more traditional one-mile oval.
Erich Zimny, vice president for racing operations at Charles Town, said the larger purses are needed to compete with thoroughbred classics at other racetracks.
“It won’t allow the race to draw the kinds of horses we need to be competitive,” he said of Lowe’s proposal to cap the race-day purses at $300,000.
Charles Town racing secretary Charlie McIntosh said it would be pointless to put on the classic with a $300,000 purse.
“If that’s what we’re stuck with, we probably wouldn’t run the race,” he said, adding that publicity from the classic carries over to other racing days at the track.
“It gives us some identity. It puts us on the map,” McIntosh said.
Commissioners approved maintaining a 255-day racing schedule at Mardi Gras for 2018, with races each Wednesday through Sunday.
Mardi Gras racing director Mike Staats said the Nitro racetrack has taken steps to increase wagering at the track, including adding trackside amenities such as a bar, slot machines and table games.
“It creates more of an atmosphere when you’re trackside,” he said.
Staats said Mardi Gras is attempting to increase the amount of wagering at the track, referred to as the “live handle.” Currently, about 85 percent of wagering on races at Mardi Gras is “export,” which includes bettors at other racetracks or casinos, or at off-track betting facilities in other states who wager on the races via simulcasts.
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