Manager says lack of horse racing may be to blame

The demolition derby and carnival drew bigger crowds, but overall attendance at the Northwest Montana Fair dropped again this year.

Nearly 7,000 fewer people attended this year's fair. Ticketed attendance totaled 52,813, compared with 59,798 last year. Ticketed attendance doesn't include free tickets for children 6 and younger, or the free tickets given for senior citizens and children 13 and younger on Thursday during the fair.

"Our numbers were a little off, possibly because of the canceled horse races," fair manager Jay Scott said. "Our expenses this year were much less, though, due to the canceled races."

The county commissioners canceled horse racing because of rising insurance costs and borderline profitability. Flathead County typically spent from $100,000 to $150,000 a year to put on the races. While pari-mutuel betting offset much of the cost, the races generally lost nearly $10,000 a day.

It's difficult to pinpoint how much of an impact the lack of racing had on the fair, Scott said. Attendance numbers tended to fluctuate during the years when horse racing was a fair mainstay.

Attendance peaked at 63,124 in 2004, when the number of fairgoers was 14 percent higher than the 55,305 people who passed through the gates in 2003. Attendance in 2002 was comparable to this year, with 52,927 tickets sold. Five years ago the attendance was 54,139.

AFTER POOR attendance last year, the Demolition Derby rebounded, bringing in a record 4,135 spectators. That compares with 2,549 last year.

The carnival also did well, Scott said, with an increase in gross revenues. This year's gross was $279,394; that compares with $255,318 last year. A busier carnival meant more money for the fair, too. The fair's take from the carnival was $91,009, compared with $84,026 last year.

The country and western concerts held their own. Neal McCoy's performance Tuesday night brought in 1,465, an increase of about 170 from last year's country performance by Tracy Byrd.

The fair opted for a second country concert Wednesday night, featuring Mark Chesnutt. He brought in a crowd of 1,285. Last year's second concert, with a Christian music focus, drew only 384 people.

Concert number have fluctuated through the years, too. The Charlie Daniels Band attracted 2,741 concertgoers in 2003. In 2004, Diamond Rio attracted 2,641 people.

Rodeo attendance was down this year. A total of 12,390 attended three nights of rodeo action, compared with 13,551 last year.

All in all, it was a very good fair, Scott said.

"The weather was perfect, and there were very few problems," he said.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.