THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, May 18, 1995 TAG: 9505180732
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: NEWPORT NEWS LENGTH: Medium: 56 lines
The Virginia Racing Commission on Wednesday toured the first two proposed sites for off-track gambling on horse racing, and the panel set a hearing for next month to consider the applications.
The five commissioners, after a brief meeting to approve a draft of procedures for evaluating off-track betting parlor applications, boarded a bus for visits to the sites in Hampton and Chesapeake. The panel will review the applications at its June 20 meeting in Richmond.
The firsthand looks allow the commissioners to get a feel for the neighborhoods, available parking and traffic, said Donald R. Price, the commission's executive secretary.
Last fall, the racing commission awarded the license for Virginia's first parimutuel track to Ohio track operator Arnold Stansley.
Stansley plans to build a $40 million facility, Colonial Downs, in New Kent County east of Richmond. It's to be managed by Maryland track operator Joe De Francis as part of a Virginia-Maryland racing circuit.
In addition to Colonial Downs, the commission can grant licenses for up to six off-track betting parlors to allow people who can't travel to New Kent to see the circuit's races.
So far, the only applications have come from Hampton and Chesapeake, although voters in several other localities - Richmond and Virginia Beach, among them - have approved referendums for off-track betting parlors.
The proposed Hampton site, at Newmarket Fair mall, has encountered opposition from nearby residents who are concerned about its impact on property values.
Plans for the off-track parlors include a restaurant-sports bar where patrons could watch other sporting events. The only betting would be on horse racing, however.
Stansley told the commission that work is progressing as expected on Colonial Downs. He said he met recently with officials of the Chesapeake Corp., which is donating the 345-acre track site, about getting water and sewer service.
He also said negotiations with De Francis, who operates the Laurel and Pimlico tracks in Maryland, are still under way and that an agreement might be reached ``possibly in the next month, month-and-a-half. We hope that will come together soon.''
John H. Shenefield, the commission's chairman, said a Richmond Circuit Court judge is expected to rule by the end of the month on a lawsuit challenging the panel's decision to grant Stansley the track license.
The license is being fought by horse breeders who prefer a Northern Virginia track. by CNB