Accel Entertainment has agreement to buy Fairmount Park

Accel Entertainment, a manufacturer and distributor of gambling machines, has reached an agreement to purchase Fairmount Park, which operates as Fan Duel Sportsbook and Horse Racing, in a transaction that will allow a casino to be built on the property, the companies announced on Monday.

In a presentation on Monday night, Accel, which is based in Illinois, said that it will pay $35 million in stock to the track’s current owners, William Stiritz and Robert Vitale, for the track and its property. The company said that it planned to invest $85-$95 million over the next five years to construct a temporary and then permanent casino at the track.

If the plans come to fruition, Fairmount Park would become the first racetrack in the state to open a casino since legislation was passed in 2019 giving tracks casino rights. In that legislation, Fairmount was approved for 900 “gaming positions,” with portions of the revenues mandated for purses.

In a release, Accel said that it was “committed to maintaining Fairmount’s rich horse racing history” and that it would “improve the horse racing experience for fans and participants.” Under the legislation, tracks must maintain racing dates in order to retain a casino license.

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Fairmount is located in East St. Louis, Ill., just over the Mississippi River from Missouri. The Greater St. Louis market includes three casinos, including one on the Illinois side of the river.

The track generally holds a live race meet from April to November, running two days a week, for a total of approximately 60 days of racing. Daily overnight purse distribution has hovered around $65,000 in recent years. The track’s marquee race is the St. Louis Derby, which this year has a $250,000 purse.

Since Illinois passed the legislation that allows tracks to open casinos, Arlington Racecourse outside of Chicago was closed by its parent company, Churchill Downs Inc., after the company expressed dissatisfaction with the tax rates and other provisions in the new law. The property was sold to the Chicago Bears as a potential site for a new stadium, but those plans have fallen by the wayside.

Illinois’s remaining Thoroughbred track, Hawthorne Racecourse on the south side of Chicago, has announced plans for a casino, but the track remains years away from opening a facility, if at all.

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