Thunder Plains takes next steps to bring live horse racing to Laramie County
Jan. 31—CHEYENNE — Laramie County took another step toward becoming home to the state's only full-size live horse racing track when Thunder Plains Park LLC applied to the Wyoming Gaming Commission on Jan. 9 to host horse racing east of Cheyenne.
This week, developers announced three new team members will bring international and professional experience to the project: David Vance, who built and ran Remington Park in Oklahoma City; Ramon Rionda, of Buenos Aires, Argentina, who has expertise in racing and gaming; and Dennis Moore, internationally renowned track superintendent. They will join Thunder Plains co-founders Ryan Clement and Will Edwards.
"It'll just add a ton of racing industry and track construction credibility," Clement said. "Ramon Rionda has been doing a lot of the parimutuel work in many of the largest venues in South America, and we're really thrilled to have him onboard.
"Dennis Moore is kind of a world-renowned track services expert. He's been at Santa Anita, he's been at Del Mar, he's been in Dubai," Clement continued. "We're just really thrilled to be able to have these kinds of people on our team at Thunder Plains, and I think they recognize the first-class operation that we're putting together for horse racing in eastern Laramie County."
Vance was responsible for the design and construction oversight of the track and facilities at Remington Park in Oklahoma City. He served as president of the American Thoroughbred Racing Association, chairman of the American Championship Racing series on ABC-TV and served on the board of trustees of the New York Racing Association.
In addition to the new hires, Thunder Plains announced it will be partnering with Westby Edge Brewing in Cheyenne to host its off-track betting (OTB) facilities.
"We love that a couple of Laramie County guys have the courage, smarts and skill to take on a project like this," Westby's Edge owners Darin and Misha Westby said in a press release. "Another thing we love, they're going to keep the OTB money in Wyoming. The OTB will be housed in our current event space, while the brewery/bar and grill will remain unchanged."
The Cheyenne brewery will host historic horse betting, as well as parimutuel betting and simulcast broadcasts.
Clement said he hopes to continue to partner with small businesses in Laramie County to host OTB, while the revenue will be reinvested into Thunder Plains Park, about 15 miles east of Cheyenne, just north of Interstate 80.
These development plans include a golf concept facility, monster go-kart track, water park, amphitheater, polo fields and a drive-in movie theater.
A hotel with OTB facilities is planned for the equestrian center, and another hotel is planned to serve the sports and leisure part of the property. Restaurants, retail shops and other entertainment venues are in the works, according to the press release.
The entrepreneurs also plan to construct an altitude multi-use sports complex to provide year-round training opportunities for regional youth sports at indoor and outdoor facilities.
"All of this is made possible by keeping OTB profits in the community from which they come," Clement said in the press release. "By reinvesting a portion of the OTB profits back into the facilities, we can make this dream come true and depart from the current way of doing things."
While he is excited for the OTB projects, Clement said he sees the real opportunity in training, breeding and providing horse facilities at a time when horse racing tracks are closing across the country.
Noah Zahn is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's local government/business reporter. He can be reached at 307-633-3128 or nzahn@wyomingnews.com. Follow him on X @NoahZahnn.
