Fonner opens 63rd season with lower minimum for trifecta bets
The Nebraska racing season gets underway on Friday, when Fonner Park in Grand Island opens for a 31-date meet. The season will run through May 7.
Fonner, which is in its 63rd year of racing, is followed on the Nebraska calendar by meets in Columbus and Omaha.
There are a few changes for the new Fonner season, according to racing secretary Doug Schoepf, who has been with the track since 1978. Bruce Swihart is now chief executive officer and will oversee operations at Fonner following the retirement last summer of Hugh Miner.
In another change, Fonner has reduced its minimum on trifectas from $1 to 50 cents, according to Schoepf. The wager will be offered on every race with eight or more interests.
The $75,000 Bosselman/Gus Fonner Stakes continues to serve as the centerpiece of the meet. The 1 1/16-mile race for 3-year-olds and up will be run April 30. It anchors a 13-race stakes program worth $350,000. The Bosselman/Fonner, which has been run since 1990, will share a card with the $25,000 Al Swihart Memorial for fillies and mares at 6 1/2 furlongs. All of the stakes this meet will be run on Saturdays, with most worth $25,000.
Fonner will race every Friday through Sunday, with the exception of Easter, March 27.
Schoepf said purses at the meet are projected to average $75,000 a program. Earlier this week he was pleased with the local horse population, which numbered 900 head as of Tuesday.
“We have horses coming in from Iowa, Minnesota, Colorado, Kansas – mostly the surrounding states – plus all the Nebraska horsemen,” said Schoepf.
David Anderson was the leading trainer last season at Fonner, while there was a tie for leading jockey between Chris Fackler and Jake Olesiak. New trainers at the meet include Stetson Mitchell from Oklahoma and Steve Larue, who has ties to Kentucky and Ohio. Jockey Zachary Bacon is new to the meet.
Schoepf said plans are to run nine races on Fridays and Sundays, and 10 on Saturdays. He said that after the races opening day there will be a concert by country artist Dwight Yoakam.
“Our events center is attached to our grandstand, and every week we’ll have different things going on in the events center,” Schoepf said.
Rock musician Meat Loaf will put on a concert April 1.
First post for the opener will be 2 p.m. Central, with the races to start at 1:30 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.