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TRACK UPDATES
RACE TRACK UPDATES DUE
TO COVID-19
Here’s the latest on what tracks are doing or have planned with
regards to running their 2020 meets during the COVID-19 pandemic.
by John Moorehouse
FORT PIERRE RACE TRACK, Fort Pierre, South Dakota
(2 day meet starting Oct.3)
Last fall, Shane Kramme was meeting with state legislators and worrying that Quarter Horse racing in South Dakota was coming to an end after seven decades.
The COVID-19 pandemic changed all that. After not holding a meet at Fort Pierre last year, Fort Pierre was set to reopen for a two-day meet running Oct. 3 and Oct. 4. Not only will the track be open, but also participation and interest are up after so many tracks had to limit or outright cancel their 2020 meets due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kramme, the track manager at Fort Pierre, also serves as general manager and vice president of the Verendrye Benevolent Association, which oversees racing at the facility.
“There were many challenges to address, and we didn’t run in 2019,” Kramme said. “We had worked hard to address those issues and then
along comes another great challenge we had
to address and overcome, and I believe we’ve done that. Working with the South Dakota Commission on Gaming, of course there will
be things we can’t foresee in the future but we’re going to have a good time and have a race meet.”
With another South Dakota track, Chippeawa Downs, also experiencing a rise in interest and participation during its 2020 meet, Kramme described the chance for Fort Pierre to run during the pandemic as “a unique opportunity.”
“Speaking with some horsemen, they all kind of struggled in the summer at the race meets. There have been a lot of challenges to be addressed.”
Fort Pierre did plan to allow spectators
at races, after several meetings with the state Commission on Gaming on the matter. Ultimately, Kramme said the track put out its own set of guidelines:
“We’re going to strongly encourage mask use and social distancing and we will provide
those opportunities for our fans,” Kramme said, noting that based on past attendance numbers and the size of the fairgrounds, there was ample room for attendees to practice social distancing.
Kramme noted that hand sanitizer stations had been set up throughout the facility, including at the concession stands and parimutuel betting windows. Several betting windows had been closed to allow greater social distancing, and the amount of time between races is to be extended to accommodate for longer potential wait times.
As for those in the barn area and backside... “We are not going to mandate any mask use,” Kramme said. “Same with the riders, in the room or when they’re riding. If that’s what you wish, please wear your mask.”
Before last year’s pause, Fort Pierre has been holding racing each year at the Stanley County Fairgrounds track dating all the way back to 1948.
188 SPEEDHORSE October 2020