12-02-2025
Cowboy Racing speaks against 'local approval for simulcasting' bill
CHEYENNE — Several new gaming facilities opened in Cheyenne in 2024, and at least three more are expected to open in the coming months.
Cheyenne residents and members of the City Council have voiced their concern about the growing presence of the gaming industry in the capital city. However, authority to approve these facilities falls to the Wyoming Gaming Commission and county commissioners — not the municipal governments.
House Bill 85 would change that, giving town and city governments authority to approve or deny simulcasting permits for off-track betting (OTB) sites within city limits.
Cheyenne Mayor Patrick Collins spoke in support of the bill at a meeting of the House Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources Committee last week.
'My frustration right now is that we have 10 approved casinos inside the city limits, and our governing body had no input on their approval,' Collins said. 'We're the governing body closest to the people living in Cheyenne, and I think we should have had the responsibility for making that decision.'
Cowboy Racing recently completed construction of Wyoming's first full-size live horse racing track 10 miles east of Cheyenne at Thunder Plains Park. The company has intentions to operate at least three gaming facilities within the city limits of Cheyenne. However, the company is worried that HB 85 will harm their business, and Cowboy Racing representatives have said it is unfair to implement such a law at this time.
'House Bill 85 is bad for horse racing,' said Ryan Clement, a principal owner of Cowboy Racing and Thunder Plains. 'It protects people who send the lion's share of their profits out of state. We live here. We're going to reinvest in this state and in this city.'
In 2013, the Wyoming Legislature authorized the use of simulcast and historic horse racing machines as a way to fund and revitalize live horse racing in the Cowboy State. With HB 85, Clement and others at Cowboy Racing feel that it will become more difficult to get these facilities approved by municipalities to fund the development of their track.
Clement said he feels it is unfair for a company to invest millions of dollars in a track, only to have the Legislature turn around and make it more difficult to reinvest in the horse racing industry.
Cowboy Racing is currently seeking to create three new gaming facilities in Cheyenne. Affie Ellis, an attorney representing Thunder Plains and Cowboy Racing, said the company may have to restart the facility application process if the law goes into effect immediately upon approval, while also putting the possibility of the locations in jeopardy.
'We don't want these three facilities to go away because then all we are is a live horse track, and we're going to starve,' Ellis said.
HB 85 would also repeal the existing 100-mile rule, which Ellis described as a trojan horse designed to hurt Cowboy Racing.
Under the 100-mile rule, off-track betting vendors are forced to close during a live horse racing event if it is located within 100 miles of the track unless approval is granted by the horse track.
Facilities that do operate within those 100 miles during live horse racing events contribute a portion of their profits to the local horse track, called the track's 'purse' money. The purse money is used as prize money to fund those participating in the race.
'It's supposed to work like this: You open your horse track, everybody plays in the sandbox, they're all going to contribute to your purse,' Ellis said. 'And in Cheyenne, obviously, we're the largest city in the state, we're right next to the Front Range, all these OTBs should be contributing to our purse. So, we've been very vocal in our support for the 100-mile rule.'
Casper-based 307 Horse Racing President Kyle Ridgeway has previously spoken against the 100-mile rule, saying that it could hurt business. Ellis said the company had initially relied on the rule when it first began operating.
'307 (Horse Racing), when they first entered the market, they said, 'We came in counting on that 100-mile rule.' Now the tune has changed,' Ellis said.
Cowboy Racing is slated to run its first race at Thunder Plains on Sept. 24.
