Montana State Fair numbers solid this year

GREAT FALLS (AP) — Nearly 55,000 people attended this year's Montana State Fair in Great Falls.

The Great Falls Tribune reports (http://gftrib.com/1DxOQd6 ) that Saturday, July 25, had the best turnout of the nine-day fair with just more than 9,000 paying visitors.

In their release of this year's profits and attendance, the Montana State Fair says the return of horse racing led to the highest grossing days for concessionaires, which raked in more than $662,000.

The Mighty Thomas Carnival also saw an increase in total sales, beating last year's numbers by nearly $3,000.

The Montana State Fair credits some of their revenue increase to the inclusion of gate admission in prepaid packages.

Next year's Montana State Fair takes place July 29 to Aug. 6, 2016.