Casino Racetrack
The Casino at Presque Isle Downs has been open for three months, and construction on the other half of the project, the horse racetrack, is moving along smoothly. The casino is already drawing crowds and officials hope the track does the same when it opens on September 1st.
The mile-long track is just dirt now, but it will be covered in a material called Tapeta. It's a mixture of sand, rubber, and fiber covered in wax.
Horse owners say the artificial track is better for horses than traditional grass or dirt tracks.
Five large barns are also under construction. Each barn will hold 100 horses.
The project is ahead of schedule and officials are hoping that the track's large purses will draw big name horses and jockeys.
"We're going to be running purses averaging $250,000 a race, which is incredible because of the short racing season this year," says Presque Isle Downs President and CEO Richard Knight. "So you're going to see a lot of good horses froma lot of different areas."
The casino at Presque Isle Downs has been open for three months now. Knight says business has been better than he expected.
