Fairmount Park as Illinois’ only racino
Illinois legalized casinos at racetracks in 2019, and Fairmount Park is the only track that has turned that permission into a working casino. Hawthorne near Chicago held a license for years without building, and Arlington never applied before closing, a story told on the Illinois racinos page. The Gaming Board formalized this license as the first in the state.
The format follows the pattern in the guide to what a racino is: a racing license from the Illinois Racing Board, a gaming license from the Illinois Gaming Board, and part of the casino money committed to purses. The law caps a track outside Cook County at 900 gaming positions, which leaves room above the temporary floor.
The 2026 racing schedule
The board approved 57 programs for 2026, starting April 14 and ending October 27, all on Tuesdays and Saturdays with a 1:30 p.m. first post. That is two more than the 55 dates of 2025. On opening day of the 101st Fairmount Park season, Johanis Aranguren, a 23-year-old apprentice jockey from Venezuela, won four races on the card.
| Racing schedule item | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Live dates | 57 |
| Season | April 14 – October 27 |
| Race days | Tuesday and Saturday |
| First post | 1:30 p.m. |
| St. Louis Derby | August 29 |
Accel raised total purses by $500,000 for 2026, money the general manager, Vince Gabbert, expected to bring bigger fields. The calendar is short by historical standards. In 1997 the track ran 232 live days, and competition from riverboat casinos on both sides of the river is the reason usually given for the long decline that followed.
Stakes, simulcasts and the betting windows
The main event is the St. Louis Derby for three-year-olds, which FanDuel still sponsored in 2026. Sharons Beach won it on August 29 at odds of 9-1. The Iron Horse Distance is the other named race on the condition book. On October 24 the track holds its first Handicappers’ Tournament, with a $2,500 prize pool paid in horse wagers.
Bets go into pari-mutuel pools, so the odds move with the money, as described in the pari-mutuel betting guide. Simulcast racing from other tracks plays in a dedicated area on and off the live days. Every $10 wagered on races earns one rewards point, and 100 points convert to a dollar of slot play or food credit.
Inside the Fairmount Park casino
The casino opened on April 18, 2025, a few days before the 100th season began, in a converted part of the grandstand. Reports at the time counted 271 slot machines, 40 of them premium games, along with electronic table games. The operator now lists nearly 300 slots, video poker and Bubble Craps, an automated dice game without a live dealer.
Live dealers arrived in spring 2026 after a build-out of nearly $3 million that added about 35 jobs. The current list runs to blackjack, baccarat, roulette, Ultimate Texas Hold ‘Em and I Luv Suits, with $5 minimums promoted on some weeknights. There is no poker room. Casino gaming is limited to guests aged 21 and over.
Food, private rooms and race-day seating
Longshots Restaurant is the main place to eat, a trackside room with race views and an American menu that leans on barbecue and comfort food, plus live entertainment on some nights. It opens at 11:30 a.m. daily. A deli and concession stands cover quick meals during the races, and there is a cocktail bar on site.
Groups book Top of the Turf and the Black Stallion room for parties and company outings, and private boxes and tables in the grandstand can be reserved for race days. Fairmount Park takes group bookings of twenty or more by phone or online, and its events calendar also lists watch parties for big simulcast days such as the Breeders’ Cup.
Getting there and nearby tracks
Fairmount Park sits at 9301 Collinsville Road, about ten miles east of downtown St. Louis, close to Interstate 255 and the Interstate 55/70 corridor, and most visitors arrive by car. The casino opens at 9 a.m. and runs to 2 a.m., with 4 a.m. closings on Fridays and Saturdays, so the floor stays open well after the last race.
No other racino lies within an easy day trip. Ellis Park in Henderson, Kentucky, about three hours away, pairs summer racing with historical horse racing machines, while Prairie Meadows near Des Moines and Harrah’s Hoosier Park in Indiana run full casinos beside their ovals. The horse racing schedule compares seasons across all of them.
A century of Fairmount Park history
Racing began in 1925, and Standardbred harness meets shared the dirt until 1999. Ogden Corporation owned the track from 1969 and sold it in 2000 to Bill Stiritz, then chairman of Ralston Purina. In 2007 management floated a 20,000-seat amphitheater and longer meets in exchange for slot machines, but the legislature did not pass gaming that year.
The 2019 law did not bring slots quickly. FanDuel bought naming rights in 2020 and opened a clubhouse sportsbook, and Accel agreed in July 2024 to buy Fairmount Park for about $35 million, with racing board approval that September. Accel has committed roughly $85 million to $95 million, and the permanent casino is targeted for 2028.