Organized horse racing has been a part of American sport since this country’s earliest days. Of course where there is competitive racing there is gambling.

With iconic races like the Belmont Stakes or the Kentucky Derby drawing massive audiences, horse racing is one of the most lucrative sports in terms of wagers made on the final outcome. At the 2015 Kentucky Derby, $194.3 million worth of wagers were made on the race program, topping the previous $187 million record in 2012.

While lots of wagers were made at Churchill Downs itself, many people rely on smaller facilities to place their bets and broadcast the race. For people in the Turlock area, the best place to do just that has been the Turf Club facility located on the Stanislaus County Fairgrounds.

 In recent years there have been rumors of these hallowed betting grounds preparing to close their doors for good. However, local betting fans will be glad to hear that this is in not in fact entirely true.

Rather than close the facility down, the Stanislaus County Fair Board of Directors is in the process of relocating the Turf Club to another location.

“We’ve been looking at revenue decreasing at the Turf Club, so the Fair Board is looking at options to relocate,” said Matt Cranford, Stanislaus County Fair CEO. “We definitely see the value of the Turf Club in the Turlock area.”

 While there have been no official locations proposed yet for the new betting facility, the Fair Board is currently going through the necessary steps to ensure that the Turlock Turf Club does not ride off into the sunset.

“We all value this operation and want to keep it here in Turlock,” said Cranford. “We do not want to cease operation on this project, just move it from the fairgrounds.”