Lincoln Race Course to hold another one-furlong race

Lincoln Race Course received approval from the Nebraska State Racing Commission on Thursday to conduct a live race Sept. 4 at its new location on the southwest side of Lincoln.

Formerly located north of downtown Lincoln at the former Nebraska State Fairgrounds, the track moved into its new facility near the intersection of Highway 77 and West Denton Road late last summer and has been conducting nationwide simulcasting since then.

The last race run at the former location was Jan. 8, 2013, before the remainder of the track and grandstand were razed to make way for development of facilities for the University of Nebraska. That one-furlong race down the remaining part of the stretch satisfied state law to simulcast in the new facility this year.

This year's race will again be one furlong down the straight, with three older Nebraska-breds running over a temporary racing surface. The Nebraska HBPA, which operates Horsemen's Park and Lincoln Race Course under the name of Omaha Exposition and Racing, has plans to build a one-mile oval at the location.

Progress on the new track also hinges on an initiative to allow Instant Racing machines at the state's tracks that is scheduled to be on the November ballot. An opposition group, Gambling with the Good Life, has filed a protest of the ballot initiative, and the Nebraska Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Wednesday.