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Austintown-track foes are off and running
By Marc Kovac
COLUMBUS
Battle lines are drawn over Penn National Gaming’s plans to move two horse tracks to Austintown and Dayton.
Gaming company Penn National is ready to relocate horse racing tracks from Toledo and Columbus to the Youngstown and Dayton areas, respectively, if state officials will legalize lottery-run slots at the sites.
Representatives of the company outlined their plans Thursday to the Ohio State Racing Commission, the state board that oversees regulations of the tracks.
Representatives of two of Ohio’s seven licensed racetracks told the Ohio State Racing Commission Thursday that they would fight the relocations, while a third group said it would pursue its own plans in the Mahoning Valley.
“Northfield will have a great deal more to say, I think, if this commission goes forward with an approval process for whatever this was today,” said Luther Heckman, legal counsel for the owners of Northfield Park near Cleveland.
Heckman later read from a letter written by track owner Brock Milstein: “Given the wide ranging and obvious difficulties that are currently plaguing all Ohio racetracks, including severe declines ... and shortages of horses, I strongly believe that adding another track or relocating an existing track will only exacerbate our already significant problems as an industry.”
They were not alone in their opposition.
“I just want to assure you as we go forward that we will be strongly opposed to any move into the territory that we operate in,” said Lou Carlo, one of the owners of Lebanon Raceway south of Dayton.
He added, “I’ve been here for a long, long time. I don’t own 18 facilities in 18 states, I own one in this state, since 1953. I’ve paid more money in taxes, hired more people, done more for the state of Ohio than Penn National may be able to do in the next 10 years. ... And I expect some respect for that work that I’ve done.”
Still, Heckman said Milstein wanted to be “part of the process,” should the commission consider the construction of a new track in Austintown, including allowing Northfield to apply for a permit for the location or transferring one of its existing permits to the Valley .
“We’re the only party that can realistically turn an otherwise inherently dilutive and destructive situation into a positive for the industry,” he said. Later, he added, “As it stands, in terms of what they’re talking about, it’s probably not legal, it’s certainly got regulatory hurdles in it, but if this commission wants to erase all of those barriers, why not play? We’ll get in the game too.”
Patrick Quinn, legal counsel for the Mahoning Valley Development Group, which has outlined its own plans for a horse racing facility near Youngstown, told the racing commission that his client “intends to as much as possible pursue its plans to potentially open a new track in the Mahoning Valley area, perhaps open tracks in areas that might be vacated by Penn.
“We would just certainly ask that the commission, as it goes forward in the coming weeks, coming months, keep an open mind to all the various proposals that might come before it,” he added.