By Robert Bridges, Editor
Plans for bringing horse racing to Hamilton County are in the home stretch, the owner of a soon-to-be-built one-mile racetrack said Tuesday.
Glenn Richards said construction of the facility is set to begin in December. The facility should open for business next October. Thoroughbreds, Arabians and quarter horses will see action on the track, Richards said.
Richards expects big crowds early on. "We've done a survey within a 100-mile radius, and a lot of people will come," he said.
Business won't just come from trackside patrons, though. Racing at the facility will also be simulcast to off-track betting establishments throughout the country. "A couple of tracks in California will carry us and a number more in between," Richards said.
Night racing will be a big draw as well. Richards said a $1.25 million lighting system is in the works as well.
The track will be located eight miles north of Hamilton Jai-Alai and Poker, which Richards also owns. The gaming rooms opened just over two years ago. They've been a big hit not just locally, but throughout the region.
"I enjoy playing cards. It's a nice form of entertainment," said Lea Wooley of Valdosta, who drove down Tuesday for a few hands of poker. Dan Dudeck and Stan Bonett agreed. They drive up from Gainesville once or twice a week to play cards.
"The action's good here," said Dudeck.
"It's a nice, friendly environment," said Bonett. "The dealers are nice."
Jeff Armstrong, a card room supervisor at Hamilton Jai-Alai and Poker, said that was a common sentiment among customers. "They come here for the atmosphere of our room," he said. Armstrong said the facility draws players mainly from the tri-county area (Hamilton, Suwannee and Columbia), but from as far as Atlanta as well.
In addition to poker, patrons can bet on horse and dog racing as well. Racing from around the nation is simulcast at the facility.
Finally, there's jai alai. The closest thing to it is racquetball, but the comparison isn't really close. Instead of a racquet, players wield a pelota, which looks like a curved basket, to sling the ball off the walls in an enclosed court. The ball can travel at more than 150 miles per hour.
A luxury hotel will soon complement the site. The $5 million-plus facility will mean visitors won't have to drive eight to ten miles to Live Oak for a place to stay, Richards said.
For Richards, a land developer who grew up around horse tracks in New Mexico, his latest project is a dream come true. "I always said I wanted to own a race track when I grew up," he said.
Vanessa Fultz contributed reporting to this article.
