Live horse racing is scheduled to return to Kansas at Eureka Downs on October 17 for a six-day fall meet running across three consecutive weekends. A newly posted Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission chief steward order sets races for October 17-18, October 24-25, October 31 and November 1, and names the Greenwood County Fair Association as the meet’s licensed operator. The order turns a long-planned revival into a defined operating calendar for horsemen, vendors and visitors.
The return is significant because Kansas has been without live horse racing since 2008, according to industry reporting on the revival plan. Eureka Downs, a five-eighths-mile oval in Greenwood County, needed extensive work after years of inactivity. The final schedule is shorter than earlier proposals for 10 to 16 race days, but it establishes a regulated meet and gives the track three weekends to rebuild participation and attendance.
The September 11 order also shows how regulators adapted existing rules for the short meet. The commission unanimously waived a group of Kansas administrative regulations at its August 14 and September 11 meetings, then made selected provisions from Version 14 of the Association of Racing Commissioners International model rules effective for the meet. The chief steward cited authority to take appropriate action to protect fair racing and the sport’s interests. Those waivers do not remove state oversight: Kansas voters authorized regulated, licensed and taxed pari-mutuel racing in 1986, and the Legislature created the regulator through the Kansas Parimutuel Racing Act.
People working at the meet face immediate licensing steps. The commission’s pari-mutuel licensing guidance covers jockeys, trainers, owners, grooms, veterinarians, racing officials, tellers, security workers and concession operators. Applicants generally must submit the appropriate form, identification and fingerprints, while employers must show workers’ compensation coverage. Concession applicants also need track authorization and a Kansas tax-clearance letter.
The fee for fingerprints and the application is $100, payable by cash, check, cashier’s check or money order; the commission says it cannot accept cards or electronic-payment apps. A temporary licensing office at Eureka Downs will open October 5, with weekday hours through October 16 and an 8 a.m.-to-6 p.m. session on opening day. The office will remain available during race weekends, allowing applicants to file paperwork, pay fees and have fingerprints taken on site. Appointments remain available at the commission’s Topeka office before the Eureka operation opens.
For the public, the key confirmed fact is the calendar: three Saturday-Sunday weekends beginning October 17 and ending November 1. The Eureka Herald reported in July that regulators approved the six-day plan after the fair board revised its operating budget. The steward’s order and licensing schedule now supply the state-level regulatory framework needed to stage it. Additional visitor details, including post times, admission and individual race cards, should be checked with the track as the opening approaches rather than assumed from earlier proposals.
