Fairmount Park horse track sells to gaming company. Officials plan casino, restaurants, music.

ST. LOUIS — A Chicago-based betting company said it has agreed to buy Fairmount Park, the 99-year-old horse-racing track in Collinsville, in a deal valued at $35 million. 

The company, Accel Entertainment, said it plans to establish a casino at the track, a possibility officials have discussed for years and a longtime goal of a former president and general manager of the track, who died last year.

Accel founder and CEO Andy Rubenstein said in an interview Tuesday the casino will have three or four restaurant options and host live music and other events. A hotel isn’t in the plans yet but could be added in the future. 

“What we’re looking to do is bring a level of entertainment to the Metro East that hasn’t been there,” Rubenstein said. “It’s really a project that we think can be transformational.” 

With more entertainment options and revenues from a casino, Rubenstein said he believes the purses at the track will be higher than ever and improve the quality of the races. 

Post Holdings CEO Robert Vitale and former Post CEO William Stiritz are co-owners of Fairmount Holdings, the company that owns the race track, according to Accel. Stiritz first took on an ownership stake in the track in 2000 when it sold to a new group of owners for $15.5 million. The Chicago Tribune reported at the time that Stiritz was a longtime thoroughbred owner. 

Though the prospect of a casino at Fairmount Park has been discussed for years, it only became legal in 2019 after Illinois lawmakers passed a bill expanding legal gambling and allowing tracks to add slot machines and table games. The industry had spent years lobbying for such a change, in hopes of attracting bigger crowds and larger purses. After it passed, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker traveled to Fairmount Park to tout the legislation as a means of creating jobs and keeping the industry competitive.

In 2020, the track owners struck a naming deal with the online sports betting firm FanDuel Group, an agreement that was also expected to help revitalize the aging facilities. Management began marketing the track publicly as “FanDuel Sportsbook and Horse Racing,” though its legal name remained “Fairmount Park.”

Rubenstein said the owners received provisional approval to pursue a casino license in 2021 but “were looking for the right partner, to basically pass the torch.”

Accel said it plans to invest between $85 million and $95 million in the site. Part will go toward the casino construction projects, and part will go toward infrastructure upgrades in the racing facility. 

The company said it expects to open a temporary casino in the existing grandstand building in the second quarter of 2025, with 200 slot machines and up to six tables. A permanent site will open in 2027, with 500 slot machines and 24 tables. 

Accel was founded in 2009, and went public in 2019 by combining with a special-purpose acquisition company. Fairmount Park will become the first racetrack in its portfolio. The company primarily operates video gambling machines, though it also manufactures slot machines and owns some small casinos in Montana. The company has been active in Jefferson City, in recent years, lobbying to expand legal betting. 

Mark Phelan, Accel’s president of U.S. Gaming, told investors during a conference call Tuesday afternoon that he believes the casino can generate between $20 million and $25 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, once it is running at full scale.

The sale price includes 3.45 million shares of Accel stock. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year. It requires approval from the Illinois Racing Board and Illinois Gaming Board.