Breeders Crown brings economic dark horse to Anderson
ANDERSON, Ind. (WISH) — The city of Anderson is already seeing an influx of out-of-state visitors for the 34th edition of the Breeders Crown at Hoosier Park Racing & Casino.
The prestigious harness horse race is expected to draw thousands to Madison County to watch the 12 crown races Friday and Saturday. City leaders said it’s leading to a huge economic boost for the area for the entire month of October.
“It’s not only for here for Madison County but it affects the surrounding counties and the state for that matter. Hotels are full here, we’re seeing some hotels in Hamilton County and even as far over as Richmond, Wayne County, Muncie, Delaware County, Marion, Grant County,” said Matt Rust, executive director for Anderson Madison County Visitors Bureau.
On an average Tuesday afternoon at The Lemon Drop diner, every seat is full for the lunch hour, but assistant manager Sheree Titley said she could take in a few more customers.
“We’ve had buses come in before and we’ve handled it. It’s not a big employee base right now, but we tend to get the job done,” Titley said, leaning against a counter full of burgers, fries and milkshakes.
She said her team has handled huge waves of Indianapolis Colts fans for training camp for the last seven years, but with the team moving their camp to Westfield, The Lemon Drop is looking for an opening.
“Since we lost the Colts this year it’d be nice to see people come in and enjoy us,” she said.
The Breeders Crown may bring that crowd, drawing horse and race fans from all over the world.
“That’s what they’ve been saying since they announced that it was coming. This is the Super Bowl of harness racing,” Rust said.
Rust said he visited businesses like The Lemon Drop to let managers know to prepare for the crowds already scheduled to arrive. He said the owners of Buffalo Wild Wings have already doubled their chicken wing order for the coming weekend.
Anderson Mayor Thomas Broderick said the city is especially suited to prepare for this particular crowd of fans.
“The people here in this community have been used to horse racing for a number of years, not just because of Hoosier Park, but we do have a lot of horse history in the community,” the mayor said, “and, so, folks are really excited to know that the best of the best are coming here to be here in Anderson and Madison County.”
City leaders also hinted this economic boost from Hoosier Park hosting the Breeders Crown could be a trend for years to come.
“Their goal was to bring it here, now their goal is to bring it back. You bid to host it,” Rust said. “I think it’s two or three years they can bid for it again and try to have it come back to Anderson.”