There won’t be horse racing again this year at the Northwest Montana Fair.

Citing insurmountable financial challenges, the Kalispell All Breed Turf Club, which had applied for five days of horse racing this summer, opted to turn back its days to the Montana Board of Horse Racing.

The time frame to organize funding was short, Turf Club spokesman Ron Thibert said. Because Flathead County decided several years ago not to fund horse racing, organizers must round up private sponsors to pay for the event.

“It’s a sad deal,” said Thibert, a longtime horse-racing supporter. “I’m still trying to get the county commissioners on board. Racing is a benefit to the community, especially the agriculture community.”

Without financial support from the county and less money available from the state, it just doesn’t pencil out for Kalispell, he said.

Thibert and another Turf Club member, Kim Mower, attended the state Board of Horse Racing meeting in Helena on Saturday, but found the local club would have had to go head to head with the Yellowstone Horse Racing Alliance in Billings for race days.

“We put in for five days, two during the fair and three for later,” Thibert said. “But Billings had requested two days during the time we wanted to having racing. We figured Billings would dominate.”

In the end, though, Yellowstone Horse Racing also pulled back its request for eight days, saying the alliance had hoped for more state funding for the proposed race venue, according to state Board of Horse Racing Executive Secretary Tom Tucker.

The Western Montana Turf Club had applied for three days of horse racing during the Western Montana Fair in Missoula, but due to a conflict of events was forced to pull its application and set its sites on 2014 instead.

That leaves Montana with just two race line-ups this year — three days of racing during the Miles City Bucking Horse Sale in May and four days in July during the Montana State Fair in Great Falls. 

The Great Falls Turf Club, which has been on a horse-racing hiatus for the last two years, trimmed its application from six to four days to better concentrate its efforts at the state fair, Tucker said.

Board of Horse Racing Chairman Dale Mahlum said having two race venues this year is encouraging. Last year Miles City was the only venue for three days of racing.

“This is the first step in bringing the industry back,” Mahlum said. “We were hoping for 15-plus days of racing but we have seven. That is more than double last year and we are on budget.”

Mahlum said the state needs to continue to improve its sources of revenue and raise its financial support for the tracks across Montana.

Flathead County gave up horse racing at the fair in 2006, citing a loss of $10,000 per day of racing. The decision followed similar actions by other counties that could no longer afford to subsidize the popular sport.

The Turf Club was able to get enough private support to hold races at the Northwest Montana Fair in 2010 and 2011. But last year money available through the state board dried up and local races once again were scrapped.

Horse racing historically has been a big drawing card for the Northwest Montana Fair. When racing returned in 2010, the fair had a 56 percent increase in attendance, and horse racing got the credit for bringing in an additional 5,000 people on each race day.

County Fairgrounds Manager Mark Campbell said the Northwest Montana Fair will continue to feature the popular Indian relay races at this year’s fair in August.

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