Friday Reading
One you don't want to miss
Wright Thompson on a horse town's last breath: A telephone rings in the racing office. Lee Smith, light twinkling off the oversized belt buckle bearing his name, reaches across his cluttered desk to pick up the receiver. He sounds tired.
“Eureka Downs,” he says.
The caller wants to come on opening day, which is this Saturday. Smith scribbles on a Post-It note. He’s in his third month as general manager of the troubled racetrack in southeast Kansas, and if things don’t turn around, he could be forced to shutter the place he’s loved for most of his 73 years.
“Can I interest you in a season table?” Smith asks.
There’s a hint of desperation in his voice. Eureka Downs needs attendance this year. It needs a little of everything, maybe even a miracle. It lost a lot of money last season, and, after a barn fire in February killed 43 horses, it’s in critical condition.
