Beulah Park - $200 Million Improvement
 

Oh man, if, and this is a big if, this Slot Proposal passes here in Ohio look out. Ole' Big Bad Ugly Green Paint Job Beulah Park is gonna get a MAJOR LEAGUE overhaul. Listen to this. A Hotel, total revamp of the Grandstand Area, a huge new Simulcast Area, Covered Garage Parking, Barn Area improvements and of course Track improvements. They can keep the slots but hey if a bunch of people wanna blow their paychecks and disability and Social Security Checks on a machine while I am chillin on a sofa in a private Simulcast Room with some Ladies of The Night :eek: thats cool with me.

Only kidding about the Ladies of The Night part.

well I know my friend who is the caller there is coming back from TVG Europe to do the meet so I knew something was up besides the twins.

why wouldnt he have come back otherwise??

$4,000 claimers should be running for what, $30,000 soon?

Maybe they'll throw a little money over to the Twins for an overhaul/makeover.

Don't know the ins and outs of the financial and business side of the game so a couple questions. Does this mean anything for the other Ohio tracks, River Downs and Thistledowns? What are the chances of Ohio passing the slot machines? Also, what sort of increase in quality of horses can be expected?

We have had people out front of River trying to get this legislation to the next step all summer, signing people up to vote, etc. I'm not exactly positive where its at in the grand scheme of getting passed through, but i've been told that no matter what, its still a ways away. I dont know where the guy who started this post got the info that Beulah is going to do a 200 million dollar renovation, he didnt cite any articles or sources,so who knows if its true. I talk to people who work at Beulah Park everyday, including the director of racing, and we've talked about slots, and he never mentioned anything about any sort of renovation. But just like every state that has got slot gaming at the tracks, its done wonders for purses, quality of horses, etc. so we'll see.

Earlier this week in The Columbus Dispatch. The owner of Beulah was quoted in the article.

I think slots in OH are about 7-10 years away...

If they get Slots, what they should do is bulldoze Beulah and Thistle and never rebuild them, Beulah is about as depressing as place as one can go to and Thistle is not much better. The scenery around River Downs is not bad at all, the racing product is on the low side, but it's a pretty nice place, not to mention River Downs has a Turf Course, something the other two do not have. Those horses from Beulah and Thistle could run on a better track with better facilities and the field size would increase. With increased purses, you might get some better second tier horses and it would be much better for Ohio Racing. River Downs is a diamond in the rough, it would be perfect, they could have a Casino Boat out on the River with restaurants or there's plenty of room across the street.

Now thats a good source!! Thanks for sharing. good luck today everyone.

7-10 years away--never. Bob Taft is out as govenor and he is the only person that is blocking slots and river boat casinos. There are already enough signatures to get the slots/riverboat casino on the ballot in November. And it will pass by a huge margin. No way will it be stopped. You may not know this, by Taft is the biggest receipient of anti-gaming contributions from las vegas casinos. He has used an anti-gaming stance in order to pad his politcal lockbox. He is just awful.

I am throwing a party when Taft is out. I agree, when Taft is out it will happen. Mountaineer purchased Scioto Downs knowing darn well, in my opinion, that this is gonna happen. I don't think they would have laid a penny on Scioto had they had any doubts about this passing.

River Downs is a great facility with a great atmosphere. I totally agree.

Beulah Park can be fixed, of course it will require substantial cash. Of course I am biased as well because I live 15 minutes away and have developed a certain affection for the dump. But consider this. It sits in the shadows of the capitol city. It has plenty of dining and hotels within 10 miles. It has plenty of areas to rent within miles. And, it does have a history, it has been around for decades. I could easily see this place take off, especially if they can draw the 20 and 30 somethings in for a weekend of fun playing slots, bettin the ponies, fine dining etc.

Thistledowns I can't really give an opinion on because I have only been their once.

I just don't think they can support it, it's the Capital City, but the population is not as big as Cincinnati or Cleveland, think about it, there's no professional ball teams in Columbus, they couldn't support it. Cincinnat is right on the border of Kentucky with Keeneland and Churchill only an hour and a half away, it would be a better shipping situation and some of the 2nd tier horses from there would come to RD. They already run those stupid 7 and 7's with Beulah or Thistle, those are rediculous, if you can't support the card alone, bring all of the horses to one spot, and River Downs is the better of all three of them, plus they have a Turf Course.

Well, one thing our city is definetly supporting is the Blue Jackets!

Good point about the proximity to Churchill and Keeneland. I'll be tickled to death if they boost River Downs, especially considering the turf. I just honestly want them, if nothing else, to spruce up this dump Beulah. A coat of fresh paint and an upgade on the bathrooms would be a great start.

One small thought I just had, do you think the proximity of the casinos across the state line in Indiana might affect their deciding to put a casino at the track?

River Downs to me is the best little track in the nation. The scenery is beautiful and the dirt and turf course are good as well. There is plenty of parking and it is a good atmosphere for such a small track.

No, not at all, because there's three Riverboat Casinos within about 20 minutes of each other, there's plenty of deman. It would be much easier for people in Cincinnati to go to RD than to Indiana.