
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 28, 1995                   TAG: 9506280020
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-5   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NEW KENT                                 LENGTH: Medium

LOSER'S SUIT MAY DELAY RACE TRACK'S DEBUT

Legal battles may delay the opening of Virginia's first pari-mutuel horse track by more than a year, the track's project manager said.

The Virginia Jockey Club, one of the losing applicants, has taken the Virginia Racing Commission to court over its decision to award the track license to Colonial Downs. Colonial Downs plans to build a track on 345 acres in New Kent County.

The litigation, ongoing since December, has put a virtual freeze on the $40 million in bonds promised to Colonial Downs by various investors, project manager Mike Johnson said.

``We're held up as long as they're in court,'' Johnson said Monday. ``Nobody will invest while there's any uncertainty.''

The track was scheduled to open in December 1995, but Johnson said it will take 14 months after the litigation is wrapped up before work on the track can be completed.

``The answer to `When will it be done?' is `When's it going to be out of court?''' he said.

Not soon, according to Lawrence Framme III, the Richmond-based attorney for the Jockey Club.

Last week, the Jockey Club, which wanted to build a track in Prince William County, filed a notice of appeal with the Virginia Court of Appeals. An earlier appeal, filed in December 1994 in Richmond Circuit Court, was denied in late May.

``It could be three to four months after this appeal is filed before oral arguments are scheduled,'' Framme said. ``Then it'll probably be another two months after that before a decision is made.''

The matter may not be settled until early 1996 - and that's assuming the Jockey Club chooses not to appeal the case to the Virginia Supreme Court.

The battle began in October 1994 when the Racing Commission voted 4-0 to award the license to Colonial Downs.

The Jockey Club, the only one of four losing applicants to challenge the decision, has argued that the decision goes against Virginia law, which stipulates that only corporations can receive a track license, Framme said.

Colonial Downs is a limited partnership between Ohio track owner Arnold Stansley and Maryland track owner Joe De Francis.

Keywords:
HORSE RACING

by CNB