Colonial Downs officials plan to appeal to Richmond Circuit Court the Virginia Racing Commission’s June order that instructs them to agree to a 2015 thoroughbred racing schedule at the New Kent County track.
The order came after months of disagreements over the number of racing days in 2014 between Colonial Downs and the Virginia Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, which represents horse owners in the state. Without a contract between the two groups, no thoroughbred racing can be conducted in Virginia.
Because of how much time the dispute has already consumed, thoroughbred racing in 2014 looks increasingly unlikely. VRC issued an order in June asking the two sides to agree to an eight week, 25-day racing schedule for 2015 by July 1, however that deadline passed without a contract in place.
Colonial Downs President Ian Stewart said the decision to bring the matter to court resulted from the VRC’s June order, which he said “in effect wrote a contract between us and [VHBPA].”
“While the VRC has the power to approve contracts, it doesn’t have the power to write them,” Stewart said. “That’s what we’re appealing.”
Bringing the dispute to the court system could add several months to the hiatus in thoroughbred horse racing in Virginia. Colonial Downs is the only place in Virginia where betting on thoroughbred horses racing on a flat track is permitted.
VRC Executive Secretary Bernie Hettel said his commission will wait for a decision from the court and act accordingly.
“We worked diligently to get race days in 2014, and we let a lot of people down by not running this year,” Hettel said. “I’m hopeful we’ll regain their respect and their patronage when we resume racing.”
He said racing in 2014 would have to start almost immediately in order to not conflict with racing at the Timonium Race Track in Maryland. Virginia “relies heavily” on Maryland to send horses to Virginia for racing, so a conflict could cause problems.
Stewart said Tuesday there has not been any forward movement on agreeing to a contract for 2014. He said he continues to work to create another horsemen’s group.
Colonial Downs suspended negotiations with VHBPA in May. The track’s owner, Jeffrey P. Jacobs, announced then he would give a $2 million interest-free loan to a new horsemen’s group if one could be put together. Stewart said Tuesday work continues to try to start a new group.
The lack of a contract between Colonial Downs and a horsemen’s group also means Colonial Downs cannot conduct betting on thoroughbred horse races at its eight off-track betting centers around the state. The OTBs are a major source of revenue for both Colonial Downs and VHBPA. Four of the OTBs have shut down, while the remaining four collect bets on non-thoroughbred racing.
The loss of thoroughbred racing has cost Colonial Downs $2 million in revenue, while VHBPA has lost about $1.1 million. The dispute has also cost New Kent County, which will lose about $402,000 in revenue for the current fiscal year out of a budget totaling about $69 million, according to County Administrator Rodney Hathaway.
“It’s going to have a significant impact on us,” Hathaway said of the lost revenue, citing needs in his county to generate revenue to upgrade a radio communications system and to invest in New Kent County Public Schools.
The dispute is also affecting businesses like restaurants and gas stations, which cater in part to the tourists who come to visit the track. Local farmers who supply feed to the track and board horses for the racing season are also missing out.
VHBPA Executive Director Frank Petramalo said the horses and owners his group represents continue to look for racing opportunities out of state. His group would have accepted the 2015 schedule contained in the VRC order.
At the heart of the dispute is a disagreement over the number of racing days at the track. Colonial Downs wants less days, with track officials contending fewer race days means higher quality horses and larger bets. VHBPA wants more race days to give horse owners a bigger chance to recoup the often tens of thousands of dollars a horse owner must spend to prepare a horse to race.
The previous contract between Colonial Downs and VHBPA expired at the end of January. Since then, the two sides have spent months negotiating without agreeing on a new contract.
Despite the loss of betting on flat-track racing, bets can still be made on thoroughbred horse races at Steeplechase events, where the jockey is required to maneuver the horse around obstacles. Standardbred horse racing is also still allowed in a format called harness racing, where the horse pulls the jockey, who rides in a two-wheeled cart called a Sulky.
Harness racing is scheduled for 24 days in September and October at Colonial Downs. The track will also host a rodeo and motorcycle race in August and some 5K runs throughout the year.
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