DATE: Wednesday, August 27, 1997            TAG: 9708270579

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B5   EDITION: FINAL 

SERIES: COLONIAL DOWNS

        Post time for New Kent's horse-racing track

SOURCE: BY HOLLY A. HEYSER, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:  102 lines

6 MEN VITAL TO THE EFFORT TO MAKE RACING SUCCEED AT VIRGINIA'S NEW TRACK

Jacobs, De Francis, Peterson, Hale, Price and Stolle.

They aren't household names like Secretariat, Virginia's most famous thoroughbred.

But all six play important roles in Colonial Downs, the race track set to open in New Kent this weekend. They're the ones who will make front-page headlines while the horses beat a path across the sports page.

To learn about the horses, check out the daily racing program. But to learn about the players behind the racing scenes, read on:

Jeffrey Jacobs, Colonial Downs CEO and chairman of the the board

ROLE: Jacobs is the money man who saved the day with a $2 million-plus loan in 1995, when Colonial Downs' finances began suffering in the wake of lawsuits from rival applicants for the Virginia race track license. He became chairman of the board when the company went public in March.

BACKGROUND: Jacobs' family owns the Cleveland Indians, but he has distinguished himself with an eclectic solo career: He has served in the Ohio House of Representatives for four years (he's a Republican); re-developed a rundown neighborhood of Cleveland as an entertainment district called The Flats; and invested in casinos in Colorado and Nevada.

Joe De Francis, management consultant

ROLE: Manages thoroughbred meet at Colonial Downs.

BACKGROUND: De Francis is president of the Maryland Jockey Club, which owns Maryland's two major tracks, Laurel and Pimlico. His father used to run the tracks, but De Francis took over the operation after his father's death in 1989.

His key role in Colonial Downs has been forming a Virginia-Maryland racing circuit in which only one track will have live racing at any given time. Without the circuit, some say, competition for scarce horses would have devastated both tracks.

IN HIS OWN WORDS: ``This is really the only major league sport in the entire commonwealth. We think that's just going to give us a tremendous niche to fill in the marketplace.''

O.J. ``Jim'' Peterson, president of Colonial Downs

ROLE: He runs day-to-day operations at Colonial Downs.

BACKGROUND: Peterson has had one hand in corporate management and another in horse racing for some time now. For the past 18 years, he has bred and raced thoroughbred horses, and prior to joining Colonial Downs, he was chief financial officer of the Maryland Jockey Club.

Peterson's non-equestrian resume features Dominion Resources and its subsidiary, Virginia Electric and Power Co., where he was chief financial officer; and Dominion Capital Inc. (another subsidiary of Dominion Resources), where he was president and CEO.

IN HIS WORDS: ``I am where the buck stops.''

Leonard ``Lenny'' Hale, racing secretary

ROLE: Determines the types, purses and schedule of races; urges horse owners to race at Colonial Downs

BACKGROUND: Hale has risen through the ranks, starting in 1965 at the Timonium race track, where he cooled off horses after they ran (that's a ``hotwalker''). He has served as racing secretary at several tracks, starting in 1979 at Aqueduct, Belmont Park and Saratoga in New York. He is vice president of the Maryland Jockey Club.

IN HIS WORDS: ``I'm the horse's ass who's here to get the horses' asses to Virginia.'' (Did we mention he's got a slightly sarcastic sense of humor?)

Don Price, executive secretary of Virginia Racing Commission

ROLE: Runs independent state agency that oversees horse racing. The agency is responsible for issuing permits for every employee of the track and off-track betting parlors.

BACKGROUND: Price comes from a harness racing background - his father raised harness horses, and Price was a jockey in New England from 1956 to 1970, when a racing injury forced him to move into administration.

Since then, he has served as executive director of organizations including Harness Horsemen International and the Michigan Harness Horsemen's Association. Prior to coming to Virginia, he served as the executive director of the Minnesota Racing Commission.

IN HIS WORDS: ``There were times in the past eight years I was doubtful we'd get to this point. But I'm happy today - I think it's all going to come together.''

Ken Stolle, state senator, R-Virginia Beach

ROLE: Leading legislative critic of off-track betting and Virginia Racing Commission

BACKGROUND: Stolle has held Colonial Downs' and the Virginia Racing Commission's feet to the fire, sponsoring legislation forcing Colonial Downs to open by Sept. 1 or lose its state license - which would mean shutting down lucrative off-track betting parlors.

Unlike Sen. Mark Earley, R-Chesapeake, who has proposed banning parimutuel betting in Virginia altogether, Stolle has focused on making Colonial Downs stick to its promise to provide live racing, which is what benefits the industry more.

IN HIS WORDS: ``The last thing I want is a slipshod organization that's going to embarrass Virginia and do nothing but bring gambling to Virginia.'' ILLUSTRATION: Jeffrey Jacobs, CEO

Joe De Francis, consultant

O.J. Peterson, president

Leonard Hale, racing secretary

Don Price, state commissioner

Ken Stolle, state senator

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