Thunder Plains Park Targets 2026 Racing in Laramie County
Elle
Nov 28th 2025
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Thunder Plains Park is moving ahead with plans for live horse racing in Laramie County, with project leaders now pointing to the 2026 horse racing calendar, the venue will fully introduce its racing schedule. The site, located about 10 miles east of Cheyenne, has been under construction for several years as developers work to complete Wyoming’s first full-size horse racing track. Although earlier approvals from the Wyoming Gaming Commission allowed races to begin in 2025, the project has shifted due to the pace of construction and added development goals.
The park’s leadership has maintained steady public updates, including confirmation that more preparation is required before the racing venue can host events at the scale originally intended. Will Edwards, Thunder Plains Park Project Manager, noted that creating the track involves far more than shaping dirt into a long oval. As Edwards explained, “(it’s) not just building a dirt oval in the middle of the prairie.” The project covers the infrastructure, the event grounds, and the operational elements which are the components that will have to function together after the racing starts.
The track is a mile long and it is made of dirt. Its narrowest point is 80 feet. There will be races with up to 12 horses running at the same time. That layout sets it apart within the state, making it Wyoming’s only full-size oval track built to these specifications. Cowboy Racing LLC, the company that is backing the project, has put in over $6 million by itself into the grading and construction of the site. A big part of that work necessitated the relocation of approximately 376,000 cubic yards of dirt in order to model the area that will later be used for racing events.
Cowboy Racing previously aimed to launch events in 2025, a timeline supported by the Wyoming Gaming Commission when it granted approval for August races. However, the Commission also made clear that several aspects of the project required refinement before the site could host spectators and race teams. When the group sought approval in July, the Commission pointed out that the schedule was ambitious and needed more time. That assessment led to additional months of work and adjustments to the development plan.
In addition to live horse racing, Cowboy Racing received clearance to conduct off-track betting at locations throughout Wyoming. Among these activities are also simulcast wagering and historic race gambling devices, however, the company will have to get the final green light from the authority once it figures out the location of these machines. Ryan Clement, co-founder of Cowboy Racing, expressed that the money side of off-track betting locations is a very significant element in pushing through with the big project. According to Clement, those funds will support continued improvements to Thunder Plains Park as construction progresses and future phases are planned.
Clement also stated that the broader project includes long-term features aimed at building a reliable venue for both visitors and participants. “The opportunity for us to come into the HHR market provides us another opportunity to continue to put community amenities at the track, in addition to improving the experience of horse racing at the track in Laramie County,” he said. These amenities, along with additional permanent structures, are expected to be installed over time as the park grows.
Officials with 1/ST, a partner of Cowboy Racing, previously told the Gaming Commission that the track would be prepared to host a limited series of events by August as part of its initial development phase. That phase includes a mixture of temporary and permanent facilities that will support operations until full construction is completed. Even if the emphasis has been shifted to the 2026 horse racing calendar for a full-scale rollout, the very first phase is still considered a part of the plan that spans several years in Laramie County.
Developers have indicated that their intention is not only to launch racing but to create a space that can grow into a stable part of the region’s events calendar. With a significant portion of the groundwork in Laramie County already completed, the next stages involve utilities, on-site buildings, viewing areas, and support services for both visitors and race teams.
Local anticipation has continued as updates emerge, especially given the scale of the project and the unique position it holds within Wyoming’s horse racing landscape. Thunder Plains Park will therefore have a unique role in Laramie County, the state, when it comes to the start of operations as no other location in the region has such a mile-long track designed for big racing fields.
The move to 2026 horse racing calendar shows that the project is quite complicated, but the dev team is still on board with the idea of introducing live horse racing in the vicinity. With the building going on and the regulations being followed, Thunder Plains Park will be a valuable addition to Laramie County’s leisure scene.
