Hastings Exposition and Racing Inc. The company plans to partner with Elite Casino Resorts to establish a multi-track quarter horse racing circuit in western Nebraska. (Getty Images)
LINCOLN — The Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission has unanimously approved transferring a racing license from a racetrack in Hastings to a new facility in Ogallala.
Commissioners voted 7-0 Friday to allow the license transfer for Hastings Exposition and Racing Inc. The company plans to partner with Elite Casino Resorts, which owns the resort in Grand Island, and plans to establish a multi-track quarter horse racing circuit in western Nebraska.
The Hastings company had tried for multiple years to set up a “racino” and spent hundreds of thousands of dollars for a location that would have been about 17 to 20 miles from Grand Island’s Fonner Park. It announced plans last summer for the license transfer.
State law allows a one-time license move because Hastings was one of the state’s “original” racetrack locations. The move must be to a Nebraska county where there isn’t already a racetrack; in this case, the license is moving from Adams County to Keith County.
A June market study determined the move would be positive.
Uniformity with other Nebraska venues
Commissioner Shane Greckel said commissioners cleared up final questions during Friday’s meeting, so he was “very happy to move forward on it.”
“I was happy to see that industry grow because quarter horses haven’t seen that yet,” Greckel said Friday evening. “It’s nice to see it.”
Greckel said some of his questions were about process. He wanted to ensure uniformity with other venues in Lincoln, Columbus and Ogallala, saying consistency is the basis of good governance.
He further explained that the planned Lake Mac Casino Resort and Racetrack, which would be on the southwest corner of Interstate 80 and Highway 26, would be a “great opportunity.”
Lake McConaughy is already a “destination event,” for example, with the resort providing year-round entertainment and a new venue for quarter horse racing. Nebraska has more quarter horses than Thoroughbreds, he said.
The transfer would also build on an agricultural need and demand in western Nebraska.
“Let’s face it, Omaha and Lincoln, eastern Nebraska, is very developed,” Greckel said. “We need to work on our neighbors out there to the west and help them out to make sure they have the same types of entertainment and investments as the eastern part does. This is just that next step.”
WarHorse to open Aug. 6
Commissioners on Friday also unanimously decided WarHorse Casino could open its doors in Omaha beginning Aug. 6.
In other news, four finalists were previously selected for the gaming commission’s next executive director.
A new state law, Legislative Bill 839 , that took effect April 3 gives Gov. Jim Pillen the authority to approve the commission’s pick.
The commission will forward a name to Pillen following its August meeting. The finalists:
- Casey Ricketts, the commission’s compliance officer, who was appointed interim director in January after former director Tom Sage announced his retirement.
- State Sen. John Lowe of Kearney, the Legislature’s General Affairs Committee chair, who introduced LB 839 in the spring.
- Laurie Holman, a research analyst for the General Affairs Committee who drafted previous legislation on expanding horse racing and casino gambling.
- Seward Mayor Joshua L. Eickmeier, executive director for the Nebraska Motor Vehicle Industry Licensing Board, who previously served as legal counsel for the General Affairs Committee.
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