LAWRENCE COUNTY Horse breeders like the plans for racetrack

Breeders said the proposed one-mile track would be better for their horses.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- A proposed racetrack in Lawrence County is getting high marks from horse breeders in Pennsylvania.
Bedford Downs, which would be located just off U.S. Route 422 about seven miles west of New Castle, is among those proposed to the Pennsylvania Horse Racing and Pennsylvania Harness Racing commissions for the last horse-racing track licenses in the state.
Bedford representatives presented their plan last week to breeders attending the 2003 Standardbred Horse Sale at the Farm Show complex in Harrisburg.
Enthusiasm
Breeders were enthusiastic about Bedford Downs' proposal to feature a full 1-mile oval track.
In a prepared statement released by Bedford Downs developers, George Hempt, owner of Hempt Farms in Mechanicsburg, said he believed Bedford Downs was a well-thought-out plan.
"One important thing to breeders is that it's a big racetrack, which has been proven to promote good racing," Hempt said.
Racing on longer tracks is considered safer because of the gentler banking of the track. Additionally, because it is a goal of the industry to breed stock with better endurance, strength and speed, a longer track helps the industry to better evaluate breeding success.
Bedford Downs Management Corp. will develop a 550-acre tract of land in Lawrence County that can comfortably contain the larger track the breeders see as a benefit to the breeding industry.
Jack O'Brien, owner of Larson/O'Brien Advertising and Public Relations, a firm representing Bedford Downs, said the proposal was the only one presented to breeders last week.
The breeders also liked its proximity to Ohio and Canada, he said. Bedford Downs is to be located near the intersection of several super-highways. State Route 60 and intestates 79, 80 and 76 are all within a few minutes' drive of the site. More than 5 million people live within 75 miles of Bedford Downs' location.
The Shick family owns the land, and the family is also developing the racetrack.
Will use endorsements
O'Brien said the endorsements will be used as part of Bedford Downs' presentation to the racing commissions during the application process.
Christina Watson, spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, which oversees the racing commissions, said comments made by breeders would be evaluated along with the opinions of others during the public comment period.
Hearings to garner public opinion should be set up soon, she said.
"What they will do is look at the package. They look at the big picture and with that they evaluate it during that public comment period," Watson said.
O'Brien noted that the breeders also thought Bedford Downs would be good for Pennsylvania's agriculture industry in general, and Standardbred horse breeding in particular.
Support services and related businesses would benefit, including farms that grow hay, grain, corn and other crops used to feed the racehorses, he said.
There are at least nine others seeking the thoroughbred racing license and four others seeking the state's last harness track license, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.