A Resort In New Mexico Is Trying To Build A Racetrack With A 'Moving Grandstand'
Source - A Las Vegas casino company hopes to dramatically revolutionize the horse racing experience.
Full House Resorts has proposed building a $200 million resort in New Mexico featuring a grandstand that could move with the horses as they run. Design drawings portray a vehicle similar to a streetcar with the side facing the racetrack open.
The idea is the brainchild of Full House Resorts CEO Dan Lee, who recalls moving bleachers that followed rowing competitors in his days in that sport. In a similar fashion, the racetrack grandstand would clip along at the speed of the horses — in other words, about 40 miles per hour.
Full House is bidding for New Mexico’s sixth racing license. Its proposal would need approval from the New Mexico Racing Commission. The La Posada del Liano resort near Clovis, N.M., would also include a casino, hotel, 18-hole golf course, and water park.
As much as I want to believe that a moving grandstand would be a good idea, I can’t. In theory, it’s great; you attract a younger crowd, make the race more interactive etc. But piling a bunch of drunk, boozed up gamblers into a carnival ride and catapulting them around a track at forty miles per hour would never work. From a logistical stand point it would be a nightmare. Sober or not, you can’t corral and strap in a hundred people at a time without something going wrong. Someone will have to go to the bathroom or get upset at the carnie running the board or puke in their seat. Not to mention the fact the you won’t be able to drink. Which is the single most important part (other than winning) of going to the track.
I doubt anyone’s even considered the horses. They get spooked if you raise an arm too fast. I can’t imagine they’d be okay running next to an Amtrak full of screaming fans. I don’t know much about Dan Lee, the guy running the project, but the whole thing seems a bit Elon Musky. You can’t trust the face of a guy who looks like the lovechild of Donald Sterling and Mark Davis. Regardless, I doubt the project will come to fruition but if it does I’ll be there.
