Could Wetumpka Host Alabama’s Next Great Horse Racing Event?

Photo:  Photo by Roman Biernacki: https://www.pexels.com/photo/two-horses-grazing-in-a-rural-farm-setting-31444803/

Poor Alabama. The beautiful Yellowhammer State gave horse racing a real, honest try. When the Birmingham racecourse opened in the late 1980s, it was designed to make waves. The stands were built to host tens of thousands of people at once.

On opening night, it did exactly that. People from all over the South came to watch the fanfare. Just days later, things took a turn. Attendance plummeted. Events were cut and then cut again. The venue began to hemorrhage money at a rate of as much as $100,000 per day.