It's the end of an era and the end of a way of life for some people, said Gaye Bowler, secretary of the Dixie Downs Racing Association. On April 29, the last race on the Dixie Downs Race Track was run.
In the 1970s and up to 1988 Dixie Downs was famous in the West for a good sandy track and congenial atmosphere; it was peopled with horse lovers from near and far. It came to its final stretch because the property has been purchased by the state of Utah. It may become part of the desert tortoise preserve."I remember in 1983 and 1984 there were 250 horses entered and racing during the annual five-day futurity meet, which has taken place every April since 1968," Bowler said. On April 29, the last race of this season, 25 horses were entered in the races, she said.
One of the changes that brought about the demise of this popular arena and track, in addition to the desert tortoise, said Bowler, is that in 1988 new tax laws prohibited many of the deductions allowed for hobbies such as owning race-horses. Now most people can't afford to own racehorses unless they are incorporated and have tax write-offs. It is expensive to maintain racehorses, she said.
In 1980, the Lions Club, a service organization, took over the track and made it work. But that wouldn't have been possible without hundreds of volunteers, Bow-ler said.
She said now people's lifestyles have changed. Many people don't have time to volunteer.
Also, she said, the track was getting old and needed an overhaul. "At Dixie Downs only eight horses can run at a time. Most tracks run 10 horses."
Bowler remembers the original master plan, drawn up before St. George contractor Jay Ence began building Dixie Downs in the late '60s. "There was a ball park in the plan, a covered arena, and it was out of town. Now it sits in the center of residential homes on every side but one." Bowler says she has heard no complaints from nearby residents, "but I wouldn't hear them because I love horses so much, or if I did, I just didn't pay any attention."
While her 20-year stint at Dixie Downs is ending, Bowler is thinking positive. "It's an ending," she said, "but I think it's going out on a positive note." She said Washington County is negotiating with the Bureau of Land Management for enough acreage to build another racetrack and fairgrounds facility, which would include an arena, fair exhibit buildings, stables and other accouterments needed to hold races, exhibitions and the annual county fair at a spot near Quail Creek Lake.
Deon Goheen, of the Washington County planning office, confirmed that negotiations are going on for land to build fairgrounds near Quail Creek. "The rendering of the fair master plan is in John Willey's office now," she said. Willey is the head of Washington County Planning Commission. "We still have to wait 30 days for the final word from BLM, but I understand they are already beginning to stake the area."
The Washington County fair has been held in Hurricane for decades, and it will be some time before the proposed fair facilities are ready. Until then Bowler hopes the state of Utah might be amenable to leasing the Dixie Downs racetrack to horse racing enthusiasts for one more year.