FanDuel Sportsbook and Racetrack - formerly Fairmount Park - opens meet Tuesday

Fairmount Park – or what used to be Fairmount Park -- opens a 53-day 2021 race meet on Tuesday.

The southern Illinois track, owned by William Stiritz and situated in the St. Louis metro area, in 2020 entered into partnership with FanDuel and now is known as FanDuel Sportsbook and Racetrack. The sportsbook, located in the old Fairmount clubhouse area between two sections designated for simulcast wagering, began operating in March. Bets placed there, however, don’t provide any purse revenue for southern Illinois horsemen. FanDuel is sponsoring the $250,000 St. Louis Derby, scheduled for Aug. 28 after last being run in 2006.

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Melissa Helton, FanDuel Sportsbook and Racetrack general manager, said the track, operational in some form since 1925, hopes to lure sports-betting customers to the racing side to increase interest and, consequently, handle, which in theory would raise purses. Such gains would be incremental at best, but the track is in the initial phases of opening a casino, scheduled to launch during the fourth quarter of 2022, Helton said. That is the real hope local horsemen have of seeing purses rise. During a COVID-19 abbreviated 2020 season, which consisted of just 31 racing programs, average daily purses were roughly $63,000. Helton said the 2021 purse structure, outside the St. Louis Derby, will be the same as last year’s.

Racing weeks during May consist of two cards, Tuesday afternoon and Saturday evening. From June through meet’s end in early September, Friday evening cards are added for three-day weeks. Programs typically consist of eight races and Fairmount has one surface, dirt. Fairmount jockeys, faced with four dark days per week, often ride concurrently at other venues. Victor Santiago, who often has mounts in Chicago, was leading rider during 2020. Scott Becker, who works privately for Stiritz, the track’s part-owner, is the perennial leading trainer.