The Cherokee Nation has purchased Blue Ribbon Downs, the tribe announced in a news released posted on their Web site Friday morning.

Gary Fife, Cherokee Nation spokesman, said Friday morning that no statements other than those in the press release would be made about the future of the Sallisaw racetrack.

The press release did not reveal the amount paid for the track, or what plans the Cherokee Nation has for the track, which was closed by the Choctaw Nation on Nov. 28, the last day of the live race meet. The Choctaws also closed the racino they operated at the Sallisaw track. The Choctaws operated the track under the business name Backstretch LLC.

In the press release the Cherokee Nation stated: “Cherokee Nation officials closed today (Thursday) on the purchase of the recently shuttered Blue Ribbon Downs in Sallisaw. The Choctaw Nation, which purchased the facility in 2003, discontinued operations last month at the end of its fall live racing meet citing financial reasons surrounding the struggling track.

“After years of reinvestment, yet poor patronage, the Choctaw Nation put the property on the market for more than a year with no viable offers to purchase.

‘The Choctaws did an excellent job in trying to make the track profitable,’ David Stewart, CEO of Cherokee Nation Entertainment, which operates Hard Rock Hotel Tulsa and Cherokee Casinos, said. ‘As owners of a track in Oklahoma, we understand the economics of the industry.’

“The approximately 100-acre tract of land, bordered on the south by Interstate 40 and to the north by Highway 64, is situated within the Cherokee Nation’s tribal jurisdiction.

“‘We had an opportunity to purchase property that is within our tribal jurisdiction so we always closely consider that, and see it as a wise business decision to take advantage of that any time we can,’ Steward said.

“The Cherokee Nation’s purchase includes the land, facilities and equipment.

“‘The purchase is also an opportunity for us to utilize some of the equipment at Will Rogers Downs, which will provide some needed upgrades at that facility,’ Stewart continued.

“The Cherokee Nation has no immediate plans for the use of the property. The purchase price and terms of the sale are undisclosed.
 Cherokee Nation Entertainment is the wholly owned gaming, hospitality, retail and tourism entity of the Cherokee Nation. The company operates Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa, six Cherokee Casinos, including Cherokee Casino Will Rogers Downs, three hotels, two golf courses and other retail operations. CNE employs more than 3,600 people in northeastern Oklahoma and northwestern Arkansas.”

Sallisaw Mayor Shannon Vann said Friday morning “We’re excited the Cherokee Nation chose to purchase the property and we look forward to have a plan to develop it. They could use it in a multitude of ways that would benefit the area.”

County Clerk Vicki Sawney said Friday morning that no deed transfer had been recorded at the county clerk’s office.

Fight to Stay Alive

Horsemen who own, train and race horses at Blue Ribbon Downs, including those who own property in the surrounding area to raise and train racehorses have met several times before and after the racetrack closed.

Several buyers indicated they had an interest in buying the racetrack, which is estimated to provide jobs both on and off the track for between 1,000 and 1,500 county residents. But the Choctaw Nation was not responding to offers, Tony Venters, Sallisaw real estate agent, said.

But Judy Allen, Choctaw Nation spokeswoman, said the track was for sale, as early as last year, and said those interested in buying the racetrack should make a viable offer. She said at least one offer on the track had been made, then withdrawn. However, those making the offer, the company known as Furlong Perfecta LLC, said the offer was withdrawn so a new offer could be written up and submitted.

At the horsemen’s meetings, held at the Blue Ribbon Downs chapel, State Rep. Glen “Bud” Smithson (D-Sallisaw), State Sen. Kenneth Corn (D-Poteau) and State Rep. Jerry Shoemake (D-Okmulgee) said they would do all they could to keep the racetrack open and operating.

But what the Cherokee Nation plans to do with the racetrack remains unknown, since tribal officials said they could not comment.

Principal Chief Chad Smith and Stewart were out of their offices Friday morning and unavailable for comment. The Choctaw Nation’s public relations office did not answer telephone calls.

The Rev. Jerry Green, minister at the racetrack chapel, said he visited with Cherokee Nation officials Thursday, at the racetrack.

Green and horsemen who attend services at the chapel were concerned that the chapel might be closed off and unavailable after the Choctaw Nation closed the racetrack last month.

Green said Cherokee officials, “…told me they were impressed (with the chapel) and planned to keep it open for us to use.”

Hopeful Future?

Don Drake, who has raised and raced horses at Blue Ribbon Downs since 1975 and was considered one of the top trainers of racing Quarter Horses in the nation, said he is pleased the racetrack has been sold to the Cherokees.

“If they had bought it in 2003, we’d be a lot better off,” Drake quipped Friday morning.

The Cherokee Nation had planned to buy the racetrack in 2003 when it was to go up for auction on the courthouse steps in a sheriff’s sale to satisfy debts. But the Choctaw Nation stepped in the day before and bought the racetrack for a reported $4.6 million. The Cherokee Nation then went on to purchase Will Rogers Downs at Claremore and to open a casino in Sallisaw, just a few miles away from the Choctaw’s racino at Blue Ribbon Downs.

Drake, who now helps his son, David, raise and train racehorses, said he hopes the Cherokee Nation will at least operate the racetrack as a training track, and maybe even return live race dates to Blue Ribbon Downs in 2010 or 2011. The Oklahoma Horse Racing Commission approved a request from the Cherokee Nation to increase the number of live race dates at Will Rogers Downs after the Choctaws announced the closing of Blue Ribbon Downs. Blue Ribbon Downs had about 40 live race dates this year.

Drake said there is a need for a training track for horsemen from throughout the state, if the Cherokees decide not to run live racing in the near future.

He explained, “I’d say at least 70 percent of the horses running in Oklahoma — not the Thoroughbreds — are trained and schooled at Blue Ribbon Downs. Those horses get ready to run right here.”

Drake explained that young racehorses must be observed by stewards or those appointed by the Oklahoma Horse Racing Commission in a race environment to determine if the horse is ready and trained well enough to race. These official works, Drake explained, are to ensure not only the horse’s ability to race but are also for the safety of both the rider and the horse.

“This track is needed,” Drake said as a training track for those who race Quarter Horses, Appaloosa and Paint horses.

“I know that if they (Cherokee Nation) would just lease it out to someone, they could operate it as a training track. I know they could make money doing that, and we could hold official works here. That would save us a lot of money, keep us from having to haul our horses to other track for the official works.”

Drake noted that Blue Ribbon Downs has a long history as a track made famous by the horses that run there. World champions who started there or raced there include Easy Jet, who ran his first race at Blue Ribbon Downs and then went on to win the All American Futurity and become one of the greatest sires of his time; the colt Gold Coast Express and the filly See Me Do It, both of whom were named American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) World Champions; and two All American Futurity winners, Merganser and Ronas Ryon.

“There were some good horses who started here and who raced here,” Drake pointed out.

The AQHA has listed Blue Ribbon Downs as an important site in Quarter Horse racing history and several years ago placed a plaque with that historic designation at the public entrance to the racetrack.

Blue Ribbon Downs was opened in the early 1960s by the late Bill Hedge, simply for match racing. But as Quarter Horse racing grew, so did Blue Ribbon Downs. The racetrack became the state’s first pari-mutuel racetrack in 1984.