“One of the guys is from Atlanta,” Thomason said. “He stays at one of the motels, and he eats at my place every night, and usually brings people with him.”

The House of Como restaurant in Evansville is another popular spot for racing people. Owner Martha Hage said the restaurant has enough of a customer base to survive without the track, but the closure would leave a hole socially.

“We’ve had some really good people come in. That’s what I’d miss, more than the economic impact,” Hage said.

For horsemen, the problem becomes where to run during the summer.

“If we had heard about this a long time ago, we could have gone elsewhere. But now we’re here and out all this money. We just want them to run this meet, then decide what’s best,” House said.

Ron Moquette, who has stabled the past 11 years at Ellis Park, said he hopes Churchill Downs in Louisville takes up some of the racing slack. Without such a move, Moquette said, he’ll look to go out of state.

“Even if they figure out a way to make it open, I can’t go. My owners won’t let me go,” he said. “They’ll think, ’How do you know they won’t close in two weeks?’ “