According to an article in the Tulsa World, the live racing meet at Fair Meadows in Tulsa will be managed this year by Will Rogers Downs in Claremore, Oklahoma.
The arrangement was approved during a meeting of the Tulsa County Public Facilities Authority and calls for Will Rogers to receive $149,750 and to provide video and photo-finish services for the meet, as well as a manager and director of racing. The longtime director of racing at Fair Meadows, Ron Shotts, retired in December.
The Fair Meadows meet is scheduled for June 5 to July 26.
“Fair Meadows has been a valued and respected partner and neighbor to Will Rogers Downs, and we’re happy to help provide some management assistance to their summer meet,” said Shawn Slaton, CEO of Cherokee Nation Businesses, owner of Will Rogers, in a statement. “This is just one more way we can show our support for horsemen and the entire horse racing industry in Oklahoma. This agreement also helps strengthen our relationship with Tulsa County.”
“I think it will be good for everybody,” said Joe Lucas, a member of the Oklahoma Horse Racing Commission and executive vice president of the Thoroughbred Racing Association of Oklahoma (TRAO). “It gives them time to have their new people come in and work with Will Rogers’ people for the future. Horsemen have known that they’ve been working on this and we’ve been included on both sides of it. I don’t see anything in here at all that’s alarming. We support it.”
For more information, read the complete article from the Tulsa World.