Cherokee Nation hasn't decided on future of shuttered track

Monday, June 21, 2010  

The Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma hasn't decided what to do with a shuttered racetrack it purchased last year.

The tribe bought the 100-acre Blue Ribbon Downs for $2.5 million. The facility was owned by the Choctaw Nation, which purchased it in 2003 for $4.25 million but shut it down due to lack of business.

"The track has proven not to be a financial windfall for its owners under any circumstance," Cherokee spokesperson Mike Miller told The Tulsa World. "The Choctaws did an admirable job in trying to revive it, but they faced the same challenges that the previous owners had faced."

The tribe might reopen the facility as a training track but no decisions have been made. "There's not anything on the near-term horizon," Miller told the paper.

The track's closure has had an economic impact on Sequoyah County, where tax revenues have fallen 10 percent in the last year.

Get the Story:
Sallisaw: a blue town (The Tulsa World 6/21)
Observers say tracks not financially stable on own (The Tulsa World 6/21)

Related Stories:
Cherokee Nation confirms it won't operate horse track (2/25)
Cherokee Nation purchases shuttered horse track (12/11)
Choctaw Nation announces closure of horse track (10/23)
Choctaw Nation to sell commercial racetrack (6/11)