THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 15, 1994 TAG: 9409150479
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ALEC KLEIN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium: 53 lines
In 28 days, ground could be broken on the site of Virginia's first thoroughbred racetrack.
Where that will be - Portsmouth, Virginia Beach or elsewhere - will likely be declared on Oct. 12, the state racing commission decided Wednesday.
Two thousand and eighty-two days after parimutuel wagering was written into state law, the commission pushed back a Sept. 28 deadline to give itself more time to come to a consensus.
``Remember, I've been on the commission since January 1989. Nothing has been lickety-split,'' said commission Chairman John H. Shenefield.
He left open the door that a decision could be delayed even further. But he denied that the five-member panel was torn, or under political pressure to choose from among five applicants.
``What it bespeaks,'' Shenefield said, ``is that this is a complicated decision.''
Rebutting speculation, he said the extension is not meant to prepare the commission to respond to potential lawsuits after it awards a track license. But the delay displeased at least one applicant - Churchill Downs of Kentucky, which is proposing a $53.8 million track in Virginia Beach.
``We keep chasing around these issues,'' said Churchill Downs President Thomas H. Meeker. He said he feared the extension would encourage the competing applicants to resume ``lobbying grenades at each other.''
Over his objections, the commission agreed to reopen its official record, which had been closed on June 28, giving the applicants until Sept. 21 to provide even more information.
Whether the panel would be unanimous in its selection, Shenefield said, ``nobody knows.'' But he offered at least a hint of progress: ``I assume, metaphysically, there is'' a frontrunner.
But commissioner Robin T. Williams said, ``There's more than one applicant that can make a go of it, and I think we all feel that way.''
The applicants include Virginia Racing Associates, a group of in-state investors who want to build a $60.1 million track in Portsmouth. Tracks are also being proposed in New Kent and Prince William counties.
A day after the commission declares a winner, the track licensee could begin construction. However, the commission expects one or more of the failed applicants to appeal its decision.
The panel must also hold hearings to determine the sites of up to six off-track-betting parlors.
The commission will next meet on Sept. 28.
KEYWORDS: HORSE RACING by CNB