Fonner Park is a racetrack that is in the heart of Nebraska and the season of racing lasts from the middle of February up until the start of May. Generally, there will be racing during Friday, Saturday and Sunday afternoons. There are a number of notable races that take place at the Fonner Park track every season.
The facility is under the operation of a non-profit group that gives all of its profits to various charities in the region. There has been racing taking place at the track since 1954 and the five-furlong track is popular with fans who can get a seat in the grandstand or in the clubhouse.
Ticket Prices
For racing at the Fonner Park rack, there is free general admission for most race days. If you want to get a skyline or clubhouse seat, this will cost you $5. For a turf club seat, this will come at a cost of $10.
Course Details
The Fonner Park track is five furlongs in length and it is shaped like an oval. Fans can view the racing either from the grandstand or in the clubhouse. There is also a simulcasting facility all during the year, which allows horse racing enthusiasts to watch the racing from across the country and place bets on these races as needed.
At Fonner Park, there is also enough stable space for over 1,300 horses and there is also a training track that is half a mile in length. There are other facilities that makeup Fonner Park, such as an exhibition hall and it is home to the Nebraska Racing Hall of Fame.
Tactics to Consider
When it comes to Fonner Park racing, the horses that do well tend to have staying power. They do not try to burst out of the blocks and pull away from the rest of the field. Well-performing horses at the track are steady and consistent for the most part during their races.
Track History
It was in 1953 that the Hall County Livestock Improvement Association created the Fonner Park track. It was then in April 1954 that the first horse races took place at the tack. That first year, there were 13 different race meetings.
These days, there are about thirty race day meetings every season. The original reason for the building of the Fonner Park was to be the host site for the annual county fair.
Racing was set to only happen on those days when there was no fair taking place. However, it did not take long for the racing to become one of the main focuses of Fonner Park. This led to renovations and extensions being added to the facility over the course of a few years. On four separate occasions, the grandstand has been renovated.
The course record was set in 1968 by Wenga, a seven-year-old gelding. The first Gus Fonner Handicap race took place in 1980. It was in 2006 that a 6,000 seater exhibition centre was opened at the facility to host sporting events, trade shows and concerts. It was in 2020 that this also became the host of the Nebraska State Fair.
With the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, racing was held behind closed doors at the Fonner Park for a trial period. This turned out to be a great success as a lot of other courses had cancelled their racing and large numbers of viewers watched these races on television or online. It also was a focus for horse racing bettors across the world that were starved of action for the most part due to the pandemic and cancellation of other sports events.
Biggest Races
As the race season at the Fonner Park track is relatively short, there are only a few standout races. The most lucrative race in the state is held at Fonner Park track every year. This is the Bosselman/Gus Fonner Stakes and it takes place on the last Saturday of April each year. This race has been held at Fonner Park since 1980. Generally, the races at Fonner Park are pretty small and carry smaller prize pools than you would see elsewhere.
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If you are looking to place bets on racing taking place at Fonner Park, there are a few online betting sites to do so. These have been carefully reviewed by Roger.com to allow you to quickly figure out which is the best fit for you.
