In 2007, track management announced a plan to build a 20,000-seat amphitheater at the track and expand live racing (including the reinstatement of harness racing), pending approval by state lawmakers to allow slot machines to be installed, similar to racinos in nearby locations. Racing dates have declined to 90 per year, on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. But in recent years, the track has suffered greatly with the advent of riverboat casinos in the St. It also operates four off-track betting facilities in Alton, Carbondale, Springfield and Sauget, Illinois a fifth OTB facility in Grayville, Illinois closed in early 2007.Īs recently as 1997, Fairmount Park offered as many as 232 live racing days per year. įairmount Park offers simulcast wagering from tracks throughout the country. In 2000, Ogden sold the track to Bill Stiritz, then the chairman of Ralston Purina. Ogden Corporation bought the track in 1969. The racing surface is a one-mile (1.6 km) dirt oval, with straight chutes for six furlong and 1¼ mile races. Thoroughbred (current), harness (through 1999) Quick facts: Horse Race Track, Fanduel Sportsbook and Hors.