PA. SUPREME COURT Horse-racing plan stands up to appeal

It was the second challenge to the proposed track.
HARRISBURG (AP) -- The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has quashed the appeal of a horse-racing license to a West Virginia gambling and racetrack operator that wants to build a track near Erie.
The latest challenge to the proposed $56 million, 6,500-seat Presque Isle Downs track was the second since MTR Gaming Group Inc., of Chester, W.Va., was awarded the license in late 2002 by the Pennsylvania State Horse Racing Commission.
The Supreme Court did not comment on its action, taken Friday.
The Pittsburgh group that filed the latest challenge, Pittsburgh Palisades Park LLC, had protested that it had not had a fair chance to object to MTR Gaming's license application before the commission approved it.
David Fawcett, an attorney for Pittsburgh Palisades, did not immediately return a message for comment.
Competition for licenses
Competition for the dwindling number of racetrack licenses in Pennsylvania has intensified in the past two years since Gov. Ed Rendell, during his 2002 campaign, proposed legalizing and taxing slot machines at racetracks to help reduce local property taxes.
Pittsburgh Palisades is fronted by developer Charles Betters, who wants to build a riverfront track in Pittsburgh as part of a wider residential and commercial development. Betters' application for a racetrack license includes Rendell's former campaign manager, lawyer David Sweet, as a limited partner.