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FARGO — The North Dakota Horse Park in Fargo is looking to shorten its horse racing season.
Six live racing events had been planned for July, but horse park officials have asked the North Dakota Racing Commission to reduce that number to four.
The commission will decide on the request at its meeting scheduled for Friday, May 31.
Jack Schultz, the commission's executive director, said the request was being made for a number of reasons, including that the state's allocation to the horse park was reduced this year and the park has undergone a change in management.
Schultz said another factor is that the amount of purse money available to the horse park is less this year, and organizers felt it wasn't enough to adequately support six events.
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He said if approved on Friday the live race season will involve events on July 19, 20, 27 and 28.
The personnel changes at the horse park include the dismissal earlier this spring of Mike Schmitz, the park's manager.
Schmitz was terminated after a Facebook post on his personal account made derogatory comments about an individual.
The comments were tied to an article about a bill in the North Dakota Legislature that would help the horse park pay special assessments to the city of Fargo.
