Birmingham Race Course wants to pattern itself after Oaklawn/Southland

Until Arkansas voters passed the lottery proposal last month, Arkansas and Alabama had a lot in common in the gambling arena: besides bingo and parimutuel betting at tracks, it was prohibited. In order to increase revenue, officials at the Birmingham Race Course have been considering ways to expand gambling operations. They're in the process of implementing a type of "sweepstakes" that involves gamblers betting on a machine showing old horse races, with a little bit of handicapping info upfront but no idea which race they're actually betting on. The race plays out in digital format on equipment that looks and sounds like a slot machine.

They've heard from officials here in Arkansas that tell them the 350 Instant Racing machines bring in more than $17 million a month in wagers. That's more in one month than the amount bet all last year on live dog races at the Birmingham track. It's an idea that they believe will bring life back to the track and keep its customers in Alabama rather than Mississippi. Here's more from this morning's Birmingham News.