Racing track vows to appeal to higher court

HARRISBURG (AP) -- Valley View Downs said Thursday it intends to appeal a Commonwealth Court ruling upholding the State Harness Racing Commission's denial of its application for the last unclaimed harness-racing license in Pennsylvania.
"This was a divided court, and we believe that the [state] Supreme Court will agree that our petition for reconsideration should have been granted," Valley View official Jeffrey Smith said.
In the same ruling that upheld the rejection of Valley View's Beaver County proposal, the Commonwealth Court ordered the racing commission to reconsider a competing plan to build a track in Lawrence County. The court said the commission erred in rejecting Bedford Downs' application when it cited a dead grandfather's alleged mob ties to the family that runs the firm.
The last harness-racing license carries with it a huge advantage in competing for one of the 14 slot-machine gambling licenses the state is handing out.
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