Fonner Park opens expanded 2022 meet

Fonner Park in Grand Island, Neb., heads into its 69th season of racing Saturday with an expanded racing calendar, more horses in place than a year ago, and the promise of a new hotel and casino on the horizon.

Fonner is racing 37 dates through May 21. The season is six days longer than its traditional 31-date meet at the request of the Nebraska Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, said Chris Kotulak, chief executive officer for Fonner.

He said Fonner will now conclude on Preakness Stakes Day rather than the traditional closing on Kentucky Derby Day. In another break from tradition, Fonner is opening on a Saturday rather than a Friday.

“It’s kind of a new twist,” Kotulak said. “I thought it might give us a bigger opening-day experience.

“It’s a big event in the community.”

Kotulak said the forecast calls for temperatures in the 50s and 60s.

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“The weather always plays a huge role in our success, and it looks like Mother Nature might be giving us a bye for opening weekend,” he said. “It always helps with horses preparing for the start of the racing season.

“Right now, we have more horses in the stable area than we did last year, and we’re still expecting more when Delta Downs winds down, and we hope to get some from Texas.”

Fonner has plans to build an ontrack hotel and casino in a resort-style development, and construction will start when state officials approve gaming rules and regulations passed by the state’s racing and gaming commission.

“Some legal protocols must occur before any casino applications will be accepted or approved,” Kotulak said.

“There will not be any casino operations before the end of our race meet.”

Kotulak said the plan is to build a smaller, temporary casino with amenities like a restaurant while the permanent casino is under construction. The construction of the permanent casino and resort is expected to take two years.

The way for casinos at the state’s tracks was paved when the public passed a referendum in November 2020.

Kotulak said the temporary casino could be in place as early as this summer.

On the racing side of operations, the biggest stakes of the meet remains the $75,000 Bosselman/Gus Fonner on April 30. The most recent winners of the route race have been eventual graded stakes winners Sleepy Eyes Todd and Mo Mosa.

Kotulak said David Anderson, who has won 15 training titles at Fonner, is back for the new season. Kotulak said Anderson has been training horses at Fonner since December.

Also returning for the meet is Jake Olesiak, who won his seventh Fonner riding title in 2021.

Fonner will hold exhibition camel and ostrich races in a charity event March 27.

First post on Saturdays and Sundays is 1:30 p.m. Central. The meet will start out with a 2 p.m. post on Fridays.