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#1
03-09-2007, 01:09 PM
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part of a 1999 article from the StL Post Dispatch...
In more modern times, local horse racing flourished on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River. Fairmount Park opened in Collinsville in 1925, and the first running of Fairmount Derby took place the next year. The New York Times even described Haste's victory. In 1947, Fairmount became the only one-mile racetrack in the world with night lighting. People reportedly came "from Europe and Australia to see the spectacle." The following year, Fairmount began harness racing and conducted what was said to be the first night harness race over a mile track in the United States. Betting on the horses became such a popular pastime that a second track, Cahokia Downs, opened in 1954. But racing's hold gradually declined. Cahokia Downs closed in 1979 and Fairmount announced this year that it will not run harness racing after the current meet winds up on New Year's Eve, ending a 52-year run. Brian Zander, the track's general manager, is putting all his efforts into trying to revive thoroughbred racing in this era of competition from legalized casino gambling, which has siphoned off many of the gambling dollars that Fairmount reaped. 
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#2
03-09-2007, 06:28 PM
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all I know is that you should never buy a hamburger at Fairmont.
 I was told the trak is laid out very similiar to Hawthorne Race Course. I would sometimes catch a longshot going north. Fairmont horses to well at Ellis Park also. My last live racing memory at Fairmont was of James Bielby mock whipping a 3/5 favorite down the stretch waiting to get caught and he did. He rides past the 'stands' holding his butt and going "ow e ow e ow e" oh, just remembered I bet a twin tri there one time. Thought I had it and they took my horse down real fast and paid it off before I saw a single replay. Another guy told me he was doing the math on the place pool and found a good betting oppurtunity. He made a large place wager then when he got paid he was like.. the math doesn't add up. They got the manager and he told him to take the money and leave. He knew what was going on. They were skimming off the place and show pools. They were eventually caught - forget what happened after that. oh and I imagine anyone that ventures into one of the surrounding neighborhoods is toast. Especially Washington Park area
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#4
03-09-2007, 07:01 PM
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Quote:
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