Voter propositions could change the face of horse racing at Big Fresno Fair

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Live horse racing brings big bucks to the Big Fresno Fair every year.

Angel Chacon burst through the Big Fresno Fair's starting gates more than three hours before the first horse race Monday so he could set up his place in the shade for the day.

"Seniors get in free, right?" the Fresno man said. "Take advantage of that. Being in here early, I avoid the traffic out there."

That traffic arrived slowly, with fans getting an up and close look at some of the racers and jockeying for position in the grandstand before the bugle sounded.

But two voter measures on the November ballot could bring major changes.

Prop 26 could allow fairs with racetracks to also have sports betting on site.

Prop 27 would allow online sports betting outside of Native American tribal land.

Race director Larry Swartzlander says he expects both propositions to fail, but he'd like to see a hybrid version instead.

"In 2024, hopefully we'll come forward with a new initiative that works with the fairs," Swartzlander said. "We can get this done."

Swartzlander says a better version of the propositions could allow the fair to accept sports betting during race weeks and keep the simulcast center open year-round.

He says the fair would make more money and possibly attract higher quality racers.

"The purses we have for horse racing in Fresno, you could probably double or triple them," Swartzlander said. "And when you do that, you get more people interested in racing and having a racehorse."

It's still the horse with low expectations providing the biggest bang, though.

"I've been doing this for the last 15-20 years," said Steve Munoz of Parlier. "There's no strategy. I mean, you just pick the horse. Sometimes longshots come in. Sometimes they don't."

And sometimes, humans run the track, too, although they're mostly jockeys.

"I think you would at least place or show," Munoz told an Action News reporter he saw running the racetrack."

After Monday's races, humans will do most of the running you're going to see on the track until Friday.

Horse racing at the Big Fresno Fair resumes Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.