The Kansas city of Eureka was the home of the Eureka Downs racetrack where racing was administered by the Greenwood County Fair Association. The track first opened for racing as early as 1872 before relocating to its home for over a century in 1902. After extensive work preparing the track, it opened for racing in 1903, offering a programme of both thoroughbred and harness racing. Racing continued for an unbroken spell for 39 years before ceasing in 1942 due to the Second World War. Racing returned in 1945 and the site was extended in 1962 with an additional straight, but within 2 years tragedy struck when the grandstand was destroyed by fire. When Kansas relaxed its gambling laws in 1986, Eureka Downs introduced a pari-mutuel for its horse and dog race meetings, with the betting overseen by the Greenwood County Fair Association. Crowd size depleted in the late 1980s and in 1990 the track closed for two years, although it reopened in 1992 and was given a lifeline when simulcast betting enabled the track to share in the profits. However, times became hard and the track held its final meeting on Saturday 4th July 2009.
The principal races at the track, all run in early July, were the Kansas Bred Derby and Kansas Bred Futurity, with winners in the new millennium shown below:-
Kansas Bred Derby winners since 2001
2001 The Kansas Bred Derby was won by Ice Eyes
2002 The Kansas Bred Derby was won by Perfectest Girl
2003 The Kansas Bred Derby was won by Designated Pac Bee
2004 The Kansas Bred Derby was won by First Driver Abe
2005 The Kansas Bred Derby was won by Paying The Bear
2006 The Kansas Bred Derby was won by I'm Captain Morgan
2007 The Kansas Bred Derby was won by Pretty Girl Kate
Kansas Bred Futurity winners since 2001
2001 The Kansas Bred Futurity was won by Perfectest Girl
2002 The Kansas Bred Futurity was won by Sissys Going On
2003 The Kansas Bred Futurity was won by A Moment
2004 The Kansas Bred Futurity was won by Ice Dreams
2005 The Kansas Bred Futurity was won by Tru Show
2006 The Kansas Bred Futurity was won by Dash of Toll
2007 The Kansas Bred Futurity was won by Twist Off
2008 The Kansas Bred Futurity was won by LB Set Em Up Jack
2009 The Kansas Bred Futurity was won by Getting The Cash
