
                         THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
                 Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, June 6, 1994                    TAG: 9406060028 
SECTION: LOCAL                     PAGE: D3    EDITION: FINAL  
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS 
DATELINE: 940606                                 LENGTH: RICHMOND

RACING PANEL TO START HEARINGS TODAY \

{LEAD} Six groups competing for the state's sole license to operate a multimillion-dollar horse-racing franchise will present their proposals this week to the Virginia Racing Commission.

Each group will have four hours during daylong sessions today, Tuesday and Wednesday. The commission's decision is expected by September.

{REST} ``It's coming to that point we've been waiting for, and I think it's going to be exciting and very informative,'' said Arnold Stansley, a Toledo, Ohio, harness track owner who wants to build a track in New Kent County.

At the presentations, applicants will be able to question one another and are expected to scrutinize the financing, management record and investors of their opponents.

The license is for a track and up to six off-track betting parlors, which could open by early next year, seven years after Virginia voters approved pari-mutuel betting.

The winner will hold a monopoly on Virginia racing, a new market that developers say offers great potential.

The commission has toured the proposed five sites and held public hearings. It can choose from urban and rural sites, summer or year-round racing, or opt for a possible circuit with Maryland tracks.

Here are the six bidders for the license:

Old Dominion Jockey Club wants to open a Loudoun County track by June 1996. Maryland track operator Joseph De Francis, who runs the Pimlico and Laurel race tracks, leads the group.

Churchill Downs Inc. wants to operate a Virginia Beach track next to Oceana Naval Air Station beginning in July 1996.

Virginia Jockey Club has proposed building a track near Haymarket in Prince William County to open in spring 1996. It is the only group to propose year-round racing.

Stansley Management L.P. has designed a plan for a New Kent County track to open in July 1995. It is one of two companies that want to take advantage of an offer of 345 acres of free land from the Chesapeake Corp.

Virginia Racing Associates would open a Portsmouth track in September 1995. This is the only proposal for an urban track.

Virginians Inc. also wants to capitalize on the Chesapeake Corp.'s land offer and open a New Kent County track in March 1995.

{KEYWORDS} HORSE-RACING HEARING OFF-TRACK BETTING PARI-MUTUEL BETTING by CNB