Wyoming

ECL Entertainment, Clairvest to Purchase Wyoming Downs

Published

2 years ago

April 22, 2024

ECL Entertainment, Clairvest to Purchase Wyoming Downs

Kentucky Downs owner ECL Entertainment and joint venture partner Clairvest Group announced April 22 they have entered into an agreement to purchase Wyoming Downs. ECL will operate the Evanston, Wyo., racetrack in Evanston as well as Wyoming Downs’ historic racing and off-track betting locations across the Cowboy State.

The buyers anticipate finalizing the sale in the second quarter of 2024, pending all necessary and required regulatory approvals and standard closing conditions.

“We are very excited to continue the growth of Wyoming Downs’ racing and historic racing businesses and look forward to investing in the great state of Wyoming,” said Marc Falcone, co- founder of ECL.

Wyoming Downs will hold its opening weekend June 8-9 and will offer live racing through Aug. 11.

“Given our company’s deep roots in horseracing, the purchase of Wyoming Downs is a natural extension of our business,” said Ron Winchell, co-founder of ECL. “We look forward to working with all of the Wyoming Downs stakeholders.”

Wyoming Downs has been owned for the last 10 years by a partnership led by Wyoming Equity Investors, and Eric Nelson. In addition to its racetrack in Evanston, Wyoming Downs also operates 18 off-track betting locations throughout the state that also offer historical horse racing electronic games in Evanston, Casper, Cheyenne, Evansville, Gillette, Green River, Laramie, Mills, Sheridan, Rock Springs, and Thermopolis. Wyoming legalized HHR games in 2013 and Wyoming Downs is the state’s largest operator with a total handle in 2023 of more than $892 million.

“We are excited to partner with ECL for our second joint investment in horse racing in the United States,” said Michael Wagman, president and managing director of Clairvest. “We look forward to continuing to build the business in Wyoming.”

Nelson, a principal of Wyoming Downs, said his time at Wyoming Downs has been marked by the tremendous relationships forged in the horse racing industry, as well as with clients throughout the state.

“This is a huge win for the State of Wyoming. ECL is the right operator at the right time for Wyoming Downs and will make the state proud,” said Nelson.

Valtus Capital Group, an investment bank specializing in the gaming and real estate industry, is advising Wyoming Downs on the transaction.

ECL, based in Las Vegas, operates live horseracing and four historic horseracing locations in Kentucky, including the Mint Gaming Hall at Kentucky Downs as well as charitable gaming locations in New Hampshire that also operate historic horseracing machines.

Clairvest, based in Toronto, is a top performing private equity firm with over US$3 billion of assets under management. This transaction would represent Clairvest’s 16th investment in the gaming space, building on Clairvest’s 24-year track record in the gaming industry.

This press release has been edited for content and style by BloodHorse Staff.

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Wyoming

Kids likely to miss out again on summer food benefits

Published

3 hours ago

December 26, 2025

Press Room

Kids likely to miss out again on summer food benefits

Wyoming and Idaho families with kids may not have access to additional federal food assistance again next summer.

The states are among 13 yet to opt into the program known as Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer. The program provides $120 during the summer months for each school-age child who qualifies for free or reduced-price meals during the school year.

Kelsey Boone, senior child nutrition policy analyst at the Food Research and Action Center, said about 107,000 Idaho children would be eligible if the state participates in the program, although it does not look likely for 2026.

“Every time a state opts out of Summer EBT, they leave federal dollars on the table and leave children without critical nutrition support,” Boone contended. “We strongly urge states to support families and opt in, in 2027 and beyond, and we urge lawmakers to protect Summer EBT funding.”

Boone noted states attempting to replace Summer EBT with their own programs have largely failed to reach as many kids as the federal program. The deadline for states to sign up for Summer EBT is Jan. 1. Boone said a regulatory deadline passed in August without Idaho submitting a plan but it is unclear if it would keep the state from participating. Idaho, and Wyoming, did not participate in the program in 2025.

The state of Wyoming and some school districts offer other local summer school lunch programs.

Summer EBT began as a program during the pandemic to provide assistance to children. Boone pointed out households, especially those with children and families of color, are still struggling to recover from the pandemic. She added families are also facing an anticipated loss because of cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP, included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

“SNAP cuts will ripple through every child nutrition program, including Summer EBT,” Boone projected. “As households with children lose access to SNAP, summer childhood hunger will rise, making Summer EBT even more essential.”

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act cuts SNAP funding by $186 billion through 2034, the largest cut in the program’s history.

Public News Service is an independent, member-supported news organization committed to increasing awareness of and engagement with critical public interest issues by delivering media packages through a network of independent state newswires. Public News Service is a member of The Trust Project.

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Wyoming

Wyoming tops WalletHub list of most charitable states

Published

15 hours ago

December 26, 2025

Press Room

Wyoming tops WalletHub list of most charitable states

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – ’Tis the season for giving, and the latest World Giving Index shows that the United States is the sixth most generous country in the world. Wallethub took a closer look at which states give the most both in time and money.

The study ranked states across 17 key indicators—including volunteer rates, share of income donated, and availability of charities.

Key Highlights

Wyoming claimed the top spot overall, earning high marks for volunteer hours (around 29 hours per person annually) and charitable income (about 4% of adjusted gross income).
Utah followed close behind, leading the nation in volunteer participation (nearly 47%) and volunteer hours (46+ hours per capita).
Maryland ranked third, with the highest percentage of taxpayers donating (over 16%) and strong ratings for charitable income and top-rated nonprofits.

Top 10 Most Charitable States

Wyoming
Utah
Maryland
Minnesota
Virginia
Colorado
Delaware
Maine
Pennsylvania
Oregon

Bottom of the Pack

At the bottom of the charitable ranking, New Mexico came in last, followed by Nevada, Mississippi, Alabama, and Rhode Island.

WalletHub’s Methodology

WalletHub analyzed two main dimensions—Volunteering & Service and Charitable Giving—each scored out of 50 points across 17 metrics. Data was sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau, IRS, AmeriCorps, Feeding America, Google Ads, and others, all current as of October 2025.

What It Means for You

With over $592 billion donated in 2024 and nearly 5 billion volunteer hours logged, WalletHub’s findings show a nation willing to give back—but generosity varies widely by state. For communities looking to boost charitable engagement, examining top-ranking states may offer successful strategies and insights.

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Wyoming

Santa and his furry elves stopped by Lander's Wyoming Life Resource Center for Christmas 2025

Published

1 day ago

December 25, 2025

Press Room

Santa and his furry elves stopped by Lander's Wyoming Life Resource Center for Christmas 2025

(Lander, WY) – County 10 got an exclusive interview with the Man in Red himself this year, who recently stopped by the Wyoming Life Resource Center (WLRC) in Lander to spread some Christmas cheer, along with his furry elves Rylee and Aggie. Santa said that he was able to battle the Wyoming wind on his […]

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