Harrah’s Columbus held its first race day on Firday after opening in May, marking the first time live racing took place at a mile-long track in Nebraska since the closure of the Aksarben Racetrack in Omaha in 1995.

This historic race day in Columbus revives horse racing in the region after the Ag Park track’s final races last October. The Ag Park had been a staple in Columbus for nearly 80 years.

“We’ll have the stakes race for the first day,” Joe Morris, Vice President of Racing for Caesars Entertainment, which owns Harrah’s Columbus, told Nebraska Public Media. “It is a really nice Nebraska-bred race, going for $15,000 is the purse, but it highlights, showcases the horses that were already bred in Nebraska and are there racing.”

A recent report by the Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission projects that an additional 208 Nebraska-bred racehorses will be needed by 2031 to support the state’s racing expansion.

“We need to continue to have owners, trainers invest in the broodmares so that we can get more and more Nebraska-breds, critical to the future success,” Morris told Nebraska Public Media.

Harrah’s Columbus plans to host 12 more racing days over the next five weeks, with the season concluding on September 16.

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