
DATE: Tuesday, September 2, 1997            TAG: 9709020226

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY MATTHEW DOLAN AND HOLLY HEYSER, STAFF WRITERS 

DATELINE: NEW KENT COUNTY                   LENGTH:  134 lines

RACING RETURNS AFTER 150-YEAR ABDENSCE

It was down to the wire, but Colonial Downs pulled it out.

If only by a nose, Virginia's only horse race track beat the odds and opened Monday, quenching Virginia's 150-year thirst for horse racing and parimutuel wagering.

``I told you so,'' crowed O.J ``Jim'' Peterson, the jubilant president of Colonial Downs who said he'd never let his $55 million dream for a race track be deferred.

The first day at Colonial Downs attracted more than a herd of horses, owners, trainers, jockeys for its first races. Officials said 13,468 spectators paid the $5 minimum entrance fee, hailing primarily from Northern Virginia, Richmond and Hampton Roads.

Many said it was the first time they have ever set foot in a race track.

``It's an event,'' said racing newcomer Debbie Schocklin of Williamsburg, whose hat was adorned with cut-out race horse pictures and crowned with a miniature silver trophy cup.

Though making a good first impression for patrons was important, making good on its promise to have racing on Sept. 1 was vital. Had Colonial Downs missed the deadline, the Commonwealth would have had to yank the track's license and shut down two lucrative off-track betting centers in Chesapeake and Richmond.

Though Peterson did fulfill his promise to open, things that went haywire were never far from view.

The elevators jammed and an escalator stopped escalating. The floor paint on the first level began peeling so profusely that strips of mustard-colored paint were strewn all across the ground floor.

The simulcast televisions in the fourth floor Turf Club and luxurious Sky Suites - priced at $50,000 to $75,000 a year - weren't working. The women's restrooms were lovely, but with no mirrors (``How am I supposed to fix my make-up?'' one well-heeled woman said plaintively.)

Some complained about the untested betting tellers and the long lines - sometimes a dozen deep.

But the crowds seemed to take it in stride.

``I find this place very impressive,'' said Mike Cohen of Virginia Beach, who did a volunteer stint at the VIP trackside tent. ``Sure it would be more convenient if it was next to the GTE (Virginia Beach) Amphitheater, but it's well put together and it only took an hour and 20 minutes to get here.''

Fans said there is nothing like the horse race track experience, but some money men could have found a better day at their off-track-betting facilities.

People wagered $45.6 million at Virginia's two OTBs in the first half of 1997 alone. Average betting per person per day was $234.

Gamblers - both at the track and at other gambling facilities around the county - bet a total of $1,210,405 of Colonial Downs' 10 inaugural dirt track races Monday. Colonial Downs' in-house patrons spent $508,199 of that total.

Those gambling at Colonial Downs also bet an additional $90,000 on simulcast races at other tracks.

So the track's patron average wager fell around $46.

Several features at Colonial Downs, including the track's signature turf track, also lay unfinished Monday - the result of a rush to finish most construction by Monday.

But for many, it was a day of opportunity - a family's holiday, letting the kids watching the ``hor-sees''; a horseman's chance to start breeding thoroughbreds in Virginia and compete for state-bred incentives; and a bettor's eye locked on which horses' ears prick up and which animal coats seemed a little too lathered up before laying out his money.

``It makes a whole lot of difference to see the horses in person. You can't see enough on TV,'' said Chesapeake OTB regular Don Houk, 39, of Virginia Beach. ``The essence of horse racing is being at the track.''

For 28-year-old Lisa Claveau of Gloucester, the opening of Colonial Downs represented a fresh opportunity to make her dream come true.

Claveau has been an exercise rider for 10 years, riding horses during morning training sessions but never during the races.

``Her goal is to be the first female jockey licensed off this track,'' said Leona Mander, her adopted mother and indefatiguable promoter.

Money is part of the reason - jockeys get a cut of the purse. ``But I probably could win the lottery and not have to work a day in my life and still want to do it,'' she said.

Virginia Beach's Green Run High School Marching Stallions christened the day with its color guard twirling to strains of the ``Rocky'' theme. The air around the track was electrified with the buzz of novices struggling to decipher a Racing Form and pros handicapping in a huddled corners.

But Monday morning at the track's office in the backstretch was absolutely nuts. ``We can't seem to find Mrs. Chenery,'' said Racing Secretary Lenny Hale, who seemed to be taking the day's chaos in stride. Mrs. Chenery is Penny Chenery, whose family owned Secretariat, the most famous race horse ever to come out of Virginia and the most storied in racing history.

``I think this track will save the breeding industry in Virginia,'' Chenery said, who added that she plans to bring her horses to race at Colonials Downs.

From the general admission lawn covered with grass-green indoor/outdoor carpeting to the elite luxury apartment-like boxes in the sky, crowds of horsing fans stood shoulder to shoulder, cheering and cursing horses to the finish line.

The starting gate wasn't nearly as crowded as the grandstand, but enough horses came to make a good day of it.

New Hampshire trainer Tom McCooey raced two horses on Monday: Slacks in the third race and Triunfante in the seventh. Altogether, he brought 14 horses to Virginia for a change of pace - and a change of purse.

Winnings at Colonial Downs are about 50 percent higher than he can get in New England, he said. ``That has something to do with coming down,'' he said, grinning.

Turning serious, he made another confession: ``They're doing their best, but they had to do it so quickly. I'd hate to have people come in and not have a good experience, because a lot of them have never been to a track. You can never have another first experience.''

Now that the track has survived its most important political test, Colonial Downs faces more practical tests, like bringing Virginians back to the track when the glow of opening day has faded, and bringing a steady supply of horses to run good races.

Eight per race is a common measure of what's needed, and some races fell short of that mark on Monday.

Success by both measures may depend in large part on word-of-mouth advertising. Will people who went on Monday tell their friends and encourage them to go? And will the trainers and owners who raced on Monday have good things to say about the track to their colleagues who have adopted a wait-and-see stance?

Its next test, Virginia's second day of racing, is Thursday. ILLUSTRATION: Photo

NHAT MEYER/The Virginian-Pilot

Thee And Me, ridden by jockey Seth Martinez, leads the pack in the

Monday's $16,000 third race, which it held on to win.

Color Photo

IAN MARTIN/The Virginian-Pilot

Baliare Harris and her father, Otis Royster, both of Richmond, cheer

after Macgyver, the horse she wagered on, won the first race.

Color Photo

NHAT MEYER/The Virginian-Pilot

Hagley's Hero, ridden by female hockey C.A. Rice, crosses the finish

line to win the fourth race at Colonial Downs.