Racing horses on main street in Wellfleet

WELLFLEET, Neb. (KOLN) - It’s a very rare sight to see people racing horses down main street, but that’s exactly what happened during the Fall Festival in Wellfleet.

We caught up with Mike Coder to talk more about this event. “For the Fall Festival, we have a ranch rodeo with music after, we have a dance, kayak races, kids events, and a parade,” Coder said. “But the big draw is the horse races. It’s a tradition that started back in the 50′s. They did it for a number of years, and then it didn’t happen for 8 or 10 years. But now we are back. We’ve been doing it for 3 years again now.”

People who take part in the races come from about a 75-mile radius around Wellfleet. “We have good liability coverage,” Coder said. “But we’ve never had an accident that I’m aware of, cross your fingers. We used to get bigger crowds. Sometimes we had 2,000 people. Now we are lucky to get 500.” But when you consider that Wellfleet is a town of 76, getting 500 people in town is pretty good. “Now that we’ve started the tradition again, it’s getting more recognition, and it’s thrilling to see horses racing down main street wide open.”

“We limit the races to 16 horses, and we have four races of four,” Coder said. “In this race we had a $750 purse, and the winner gets an embroidered saddle blanket. It’s just a good event for a small town, it’s good to get people together, and sometimes in small communities this is the only time you see everyone together.”

The community has plans to hold the races again next year.

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