AUBURN, Wash. — After two years, the state's largest horse racetrack, Emerald Downs, welcomed fans back on Sunday afternoon with no COVID-19 restrictions.
There are two things you can bet on in spring, rain showers and 78-year-old Carl Ritmanich sitting coming for Emerald Downs’ opening day.
“This is my seat, I have sat in this seat every year since this track has been open, you can ask anybody here, anybody, this is my seat,” said Ritmanich.
Despite his hat saying, “Don’t know and don’t care,” Ritmanich knows and cares a lot about Emerald Downs. He has witnessed nearly 27 seasons of memories along this track.
“Trainers that have broken track records, and world records, I mean it’s just the excitement of like being alive with all the thrills that come with it,” said Ritmanich.
However, due to the pandemic, Ritmanich had to sit the last two seasons out. He’s now happy to get back in the saddle, along with the president of Emerald Downs Phil Ziegler.
“It’s really unlike any other sport that you can have the excitement of the horses and the beauty of the horses running down the stretch,” said Ziegler.
Ziegler said unlike the last couple seasons, they don’t have any COVID restrictions and fans are welcome back just in time for opening day.
Ziegler is also a board member of the City of Auburn’s Chamber of Commerce. He said with a full five-month season, they anticipate the races will bring in millions of dollars for the city’s economy. Emerald Downs also creates more than 700 jobs for people in the area.
“I would think it’s great for the whole city because people who are coming, anytime you get thousands of people coming into town, looking around other than stadiums and arenas, you always see things around there busy beforehand, during and afterward,” said Ziegler.
There’s been a lot of uncertainty the last two years, but Ritmanich said he’s excited for the world to get back on track.
“It doesn’t change, I just get older, but I become more grateful and thankful that we still have our beautiful track,” said Ritmanich.
The Emerald Downs season runs from May 15, 2022 through September 18, 2022 according to officials.