The Nebraska racetrack of Lincoln began as a racecourse at the State Fairgrounds in Lincoln and first started racing on 9th September 1947. It had an open air grandstand which had the capacity to hold almost 5400 punters and, in the early days, was known as State Fair Park. The 5 furlong oval racetrack, complete with 4 ½ furlong chute, had a 201 metre home straight. Its principal race was the Capitol City Futurity. The final year of racing at the State Fair Park racetrack was in 2012, because the ground was actually leased from the University of Nebraska and they wished to utilise the ground for students. For the 2013 season the track was renamed Lincoln Racecourse and it was to be predominantly a simulcast facility. However, the state laws prevented a simulcast facility to operate unless there was at least one actual live race meeting held annually. To overcome this law on 8th January 2013 three horses lined up for a single race card to satisfy the law. |
Although it is likely that the State Fair Park will never again witness live racing, a new course was planned just a few miles away in Lincoln. Once again it aimed to offer a simulcast facility and, once again, it was necessary to satisfy the state law. So on 4th September 2015 a single one furlong race took place. |
