The Sad Saga Of A Las Vegas Race Track

[sea biscuit]

 
By Rob Miech

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Las Vegas Park might have become one of the premier Kentucky Derby prep races. Maybe Big Brown or Z Fortune would have raced here in a Las Vegas Handicap or Silver State Stakes in recent months.

The story of thoroughbred racing in Las Vegas is riddled with embezzling and forgery, a special master and a bankruptcy referee, federal judges, poor attendance and a broken tote board.

Joseph M. Smoot, a New York promoter who had made and lost several fortunes, had big dreams for a racetrack in Las Vegas that would have no rival.

Smoot had two-tone shoes, a cane and a straw hat atop his white hair. The fast-talking promoter from New York had charm, persuasive powers and a stunning redheaded wife half his age.

But in 1946, he didn

[Wilderness]

Here's an old thread, no source reported.

There's more LV track info, if you read through the thread.

[LVGaryD]

This racetrack was nearly purchased in 1988 by a well known Northfield Park horse owner who also had family ties to a small casino out here.

The man who was going to run the track for this owner was Tom Schuele, also a longtime owner of horses racing at Northfield Park. Yours truly was going to have a very high ranking position in the daily operations of the track as well.

The three of us visited the site several times together, and a deal was imminent, but it fell through, thereby reducing a young Gary D. to dealing in a casino for the next several decades.

And that is the rest of the story. The name of said owner will remain private. 

[Just Saying]

Good thing it never went through. I wouldn't want to race for a tyrant like LVGD! And God forbid I'd get to train in warm sunny weather.