ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, July 18, 1996 TAG: 9607180067
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-5 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: Associated Press
Most disagreements delaying construction of the Colonial Downs horse track in New Kent County have been resolved and racing will start on schedule next year, track officials told the Virginia Racing Commission on Wednesday.
``I will guarantee we will give you a world-class track,'' Ronald Tice, an attorney for Colonial Downs, told the commission.
When the pari-mutuel track got approval from the commission, it committed to open next July or face a $1 million penalty.
``It is clear ... that there is at least some basis for slightly elevated hopes,'' commission chairman John Shenefield said.
Colonial Downs partners plan to sell equity and bonds to raise the money to build the track, Tice said.
Gil Short, general manager of Colonial Downs, said several agreements within the past month have put the track on course. They were:
Deals with two horsemen's groups on a racing purses contract. The agreement still has to be signed by Arnold Stansley, holder of the Colonial Downs license.
A contract with the Maryland Jockey's Club to share horses and schedule seasons to avoid conflicts between Colonial Downs and the Laurel and Pimlico tracks in Maryland.
A decision to open off-track betting in Richmond.
Commissioners heard from residents protesting their decision to allow Colonial Downs to open the betting parlor in Captain George's Seafood Restaurant, which straddles the Richmond-Henrico County line.
``This is the wrong place for off-track betting,'' said Lee Whitnum of the Monument Avenue Park Lane Association. ``Residents of this neighborhood have fought hard for 10 years to keep their stretch of Broad Street presentable. The decision you made ... was wrong.''
The residents have taken the commission to court over the decision but no court date has been set, Whitnum said.
The Richmond gaming parlor, along with an existing off-track parlor in Chesapeake and four other parlors planned for other areas of the state, will help finance the track, which is expected to cost at least $40 million.
The commission voted 4-0 Wednesday to approve a proposal to change the track to an outer ring of dirt and an inner ring of turf. The old design had an outer ring of turf.
Short said the change would make the pari-mutuel track a better draw because spectators would be closer to the horses.
``Eighty percent of races are run on dirt,'' he said. ``In Virginia, with the naive audience, we want to put them right at the rail where they can see the horses.''
In another decision, the commission unanimously approved a request for a limited pari-mutuel license from Movern Park, which runs steeplechase races several times a year near Leesburg. The license makes Movern Park the only gambling track in Virginia until Colonial Downs opens.
LENGTH: Medium: 63 lines KEYWORDS: HORSE RACINGby CNB