
DATE: Monday, October 13, 1997              TAG: 9710130051

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY HOLLY A. HEYSER, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NEW KENT                          LENGTH:  106 lines

COLONIAL DOWNS CROSSES FININSH LINEAFTER BARELY MAKING IT TO THE STARTING GATE, TRACK DRAWS MORE INTEREST AT THE END.

No one's calling Colonial Downs' first season of horse racing a glorious success.

But by the time the last horse crossed the finish line in Sunday's waning sunlight, track officials were pleased, nonetheless.

``It's gratifying that it's worked out as well as it has,'' Racing Secretary Lenny Hale said.

For Hale and others, making it through 30 days of racing as well as they did was a significant accomplishment. Rumors predicted the track would open Sept. 1 - the state-mandated deadline - only to shut down a few days later for lack of horses.

Attendance and betting at the track were lower than projected. And there were quite a few races with anemic six-horse fields.

But getting horses is a problem industrywide. And what Colonial Downs crowds lacked in size and desire to gamble, they made up for with unbridled enthusiasm.

``Did you hear them yelling and screaming out there?'' asked a beaming track president O.J. ``Jim'' Peterson, standing on the roof of the grandstand Sunday.

And it's true: Virginia fans seem to get more excited about every race than do the more seasoned crowds at tracks in Maryland.

Granted, enthusiasm doesn't pay the bills. But it does give track officials hope that Virginians will warm up to horse racing and come out in greater numbers next year.

While the average bet per person at Colonial Downs was a little more than $50 for the entire season - less than one-third of what it is at other tracks - Peterson also saw a good omen in the direction that figure went as the season progressed: More than $80 per person toward the end, compared to $41 on opening day.

Wagering is important because it's the main source of income for the track and money for the purses offered in each race. The more people bet, the higher the purses will be. And the higher the purses, the more horse owners will want to race their horses there.

That's what needs to happen for Colonial Downs to fulfill its mission under the state law that allows pari-mutuel racing: Nurturing and sustaining the Virginia horse industry.

More important than wagering at the track, though, is wagering at Colonial Downs' satellite betting centers, which operate year-round. It has two, is opening two more in Hampton and Brunswick in November, and it's licensed to operate six.

Per capita wagering is much higher at those centers - around $240. Because wagering is high and costs are low, those centers pay the bills and purses for the track.

If Virginia hadn't allowed Colonial Downs to open off-track betting centers before opening the track, Hale said, there's little doubt this season's lukewarm attendance and betting would have been a disaster.

Missing the deadline for opening also would have been a disaster.

State law required the track to open Sept. 1 or lose its license. Failing would have forced Colonial Downs to shut its existing centers.

Despite the inconveniences - most bathrooms didn't have mirrors and the parking lot was unpaved for the first season - that came with opening the track before it was really ready, many bettors and horsemen came away with good feelings.

John and Dorothy Wilkinson of Hampton, who went to Colonial Downs on Thursday, said the facility was beautiful. ``We've been to races in Maryland, Kentucky and Texas, and this is much nicer,'' Dorothy Wilkinson said.

Added her husband: ``It's nice and clean, and easy to get to. When they get it finished, it'll be really nice.''

Barbara and Charlie Nassaur of Lanexa, a small town not far from the track, said they liked Colonial Downs. But when it first opened, the public address system initially failed to alert horsemen when it was time for the next race and even now there aren't real bathrooms at the barns, just portable ones.

No matter, said Kentucky horse trainer Theresa Carothers. She liked racing at Colonial Downs so much that she's thinking about moving her operations to Virginia.

``The people here are very horse-manlike,'' she said. ``And I like the way people treat you in the office.''

Carothers said when the meet began, Hale was out in the barns all the time trying to understand and solve the problems people were having. ``You don't see most racing secretaries doing that,'' she said.

Ifs and buts aside, though, track president Peterson was pleased. Relaxing in a luxury suite after the last race, he said, ``It was terrific. Everybody had a wonderful time, and that's what it's all about.''

Meanwhile, downstairs, even though live racing was over for 1997, the patrons kept wagering on races simulcast from Louisiana and California.

That, too, is what it's all about. ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]

RATING THE RACES

MOTOYA NAKAMURA/The Virginian-Pilot

People make their way from the betting windows to the track to watch

one of the last horse races of the season Sunday at Colonial Downs.

THE TALLY

Projected daily attendance: 4,000

Average daily attendance: 3,623

Projected daily wagering at the track: $400,000

Actual daily wagering: $180,000

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE