PENNSYLVANIA Applicants vie for racing license

Public hearings should begin in the next two months.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- It appears that the competition for Pennsylvania's last harness racing license is down to proposed racetracks in Lawrence and Beaver counties.
Anton Leppler, executive director of the state harness racing commission, said legal counsel is still researching the law passed fewer than two weeks ago by the state Legislature, but it appears to exclude all applicants except Bedford Downs in Mahoning Township, Lawrence County, and Valley View Downs, near Chippewa Township, Beaver County.
The others are excluded by provisions in the law that neither permit a new racetrack to locate within 20 miles of an existing racetrack nor permit the applicant to hold 33 percent ownership in a second casino if it already owns one. The last harness track license is almost guaranteed a license for slots gambling, barring any problems with financing or the background check, Leppler said.
Narrowing options
Leppler would not say that all others have definitely been excluded, but said legal counsel is now researching the matter.
"We want to make sure that we are 100 percent correct on the application of the new law," he said. He said all of the applications were submitted last year before these provisions were known.
Developers of the proposed harness tracks in Lawrence and Beaver counties have declared it a two-man race.
"It looks like a head-to-head race," said Carmen Shick, president of Bedford Downs, located off of U.S. Route 422 between New Castle and Youngstown. Shick said he learned from his attorney that the other applicants were out.
"He seems to conclude that it is a two-man race. It will be David against Goliath," Shick said.
Bedford's competition, Valley View Downs, is owned by Centaur Pennsylvania, a subsidiary of Centaur Inc. of Indianapolis, a multistate gambling and racing company.
Ron Klink, a former U.S. congressman who is acting as the group's local spokesman, said Monday he had not heard that the other competitors were out of the running for the last harness track license because of provisions in the new law.
He said Valley View has been a front runner for the license since it was proposed.
Positive feedback
"The feedback that we've gotten from the horse racing commission from the time we filed our applications is that our filing should be used as a model for other filings. They liked the detail and the information and the manner in which it was assembled," he said.
Klink said they have consistently gotten strong feedback from state officials.
"We are optimistic that we will be granted the license for harness racing and, hopefully, be successful for the slot machine license," he said.
Shick, who operates his family's trucking, coal and construction company, said he's not concerned about going up against a large corporation.
"I think we have the best project by far. I think we are going to leave them in the dust. It will be like Smarty Jones in the Kentucky Derby," he said.
Leppler said he hopes to begin public hearings for the proposed racetracks in the next two months.
He said one will be held near each site to garner public comment. The second hearing will be in Harrisburg and can include cross examination by anyone who has standing, including other applicants, Leppler said.
cioffi@vindy.com