Real Name, Same Game !
If you go back to
the nineteen forty's you'll find the roots of pari-mutual racing at
Yellowstone Downs. Back then it just went by Billings (Bil), along with
Great Falls they both hosted a week of racing. At some point around the
seventies the name was changed to Metrapark (MeP), which is the name of
the facility which includes the track and hosts the Montana State Fair.
Finally it got an official sounding race track name, Yellowstone Downs.
Yes, the name sounded great, the facility looked pretty much like a real track, but it still was just a fair track with a week of racing. After the 2011 season it wasn't even that. The Montana Track with the official name cancelled racing after that season. Supporters vowed to return in 2013 but that didn't happen. Now their hoping 2014 is the year racing will return to Billings, but truth be told racing will probably disappear from Montana before it returns to Yellowstone Downs.