Ak-Sar-Ben items go to auction

OMAHA, Neb. - A large piece of Nebraska racing history was to be distributed throughout the country Friday and Saturday at absolute public auction at which the remaining contents of the Ak-Sar-Ben building were to be sold.

Ak-Sar-Ben conducted its last year of live racing in 1995 and served as a simulcast center until the opening of Horsemen's Park in 1998. The auction was to begin at 9:01 a.m. Friday, with kitchen and restaurant equipment from the plant.

A second session at 5:31 p.m. Friday in the Keno Room was to offer collectibles and memorabilia from the building. Among items in the sale bill are framed photos and paintings of Ak-Sar-Ben and the grounds, and prints of Omaha, Landaluce, Seabiscuit, Sun Beau, and Bluelarkspur, as well as Laffit Pincay Jr.

Items ranging from racing memorabilia to photos of entertainers who performed at Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben events over the decades were to be sold, too, along with furnishings from each of the clubrooms in the plant. Paintings and plaques from the building also were to be auctioned.

The 10:01 a.m. Saturday session offers plant fixtures, including diesel generators, shop and office equipment, stadium seats from the grandstand and Coliseum, the arena scoreboard, and the Lancers hockey rink.