Featuring
interviews with David Vance, first President and General Manager
In September of 1988, RemingtonPark first opened its doors to the
public. Since then, we’ve put on over 31,000 races and survived through quite a
tumultuous quarter of a decade. We’re proud of how far we’ve come since the
first time our gates busted open - so in celebration of our 25th anniversary
we’re going to take a look back at both the best and the worst of the last 25 years.
In 1988, Remington Park started as a dream in the minds of Edward
J DeBartolo and David Vance. There’s no way to know for certain how the idea
was developed, but we assume it was probably a product of conference calls on
cinder-block sized cell phones - with the budget figured up with a brightly
colored neon calculator watch.
“He called me one afternoon,” David Vance recalled
about Edward DeBartolo the day it all began, “and he asked me to go to
Oklahoma to do some research and give him a recommendation about the merits of
building a race track there. After we made the decision to pursue it, I made
weekly visits to Oklahoma for the next 12 months while continuing to help run
Louisiana Downs. Soon after, the process involved daily discussions with
architects and regulators, working on the design and development of the
vision.”
Eventually the dream became a reality and Oklahoma had its first
racetrack. Remington Park was an immediate hit in Oklahoma City, entertaining
crowds of tens of thousands each day.
“I'm not sure exactly when or how it occurred in the evolution,
but it eventually began to take on a world class, state-of-the-art image - even
though there wasn't necessarily a conscious step in that direction. Remington
Park took on a life of its own, as they say. It was easily the most exciting
and rewarding journey I've ever been involved with in my career.”
By the early 1990’s, the world around RemingtonPark was changing
quickly. The parachute pants and jheri curls of the 80’s turned into the track
suits and crew cuts of the 90’s. The internet emerged, and emails replaced
postal mail. The Hubble telescope was launched into space, and the cold war
came to a close. Still, Remington Park was keeping the glory of horse racing alive
and well in Oklahoma City.
“There was a genuine enthusiasm from leaders in the state and the
city to build a track in Oklahoma, but many of them have told me since that it
has exceeded their imagination and objectives. It's funny, but as I look back,
I realize how far we've come in the last 25 years!”
Very far, indeed! Remington Park now boasts more than horse racing
(including the world’s best quarter horse meet). We’re also extremely proud of
our world-class casino floor, our 5-star dining, and our unbeatable customer
service.
So looking forward at the next 25 years, what can we say?
Certainly nobody could have predicted back in 1988 the way things have turned
out today. But if we could, what would have been done differently?
“The vision and shared goals would be unchanged,” Mr.
Vance believes. “but the industry has evolved so much over the last 25
years. I'm sure we would have done it with an eye on expanded gaming, the same
way Global Gaming has done since assuming ownership. So the footprint would be
different, but the hopes and dreams of those of us involved would be just as
real, as they are today with Global Gaming and Scott Wells and the management
team and all of the employees who take such pride in being involved with
something so special. Global definitely has a sense of community that we
embraced with a passion when we first opened.”
So who knows? Maybe by 2038 we’ll have jockeys speeding down the
track with jetpacks. We’ll cure all diseases with a pill and have a casino on
the moon. After all, everyone thought that beanie babies, furbys, and pogs were
invincible – yet like most things they perished in the test of time.
But if there’s one thing that hasn’t wavered in the last 25 years,
it’s the original vision shared by Edward J. DeBartolo and David Vance back in
1988. The dream, embodied in the power and resilience of a steed barreling down
the track, that lives on today at Oklahoma City’s RemingtonPark.
RemingtonPark is Oklahoma's #1 sporting entertainment destination. Unlike any other casino in the area, we offer a unique blend of continually-updated casino games, live music, fine dining, and both live and simulcast horse racing.
www.remingtonpark.com
RemingtonPark is Oklahoma's #1 sporting entertainment destination. Unlike any other casino in the area, we offer a unique blend of continually-updated casino games, live music, fine dining, and both live and simulcast horse racing.
www.remingtonpark.com
