Tuesday, March 02, 1999
Turfway sale should close mid-month
Racing panel must vote first
BY JANE PRENDERGAST
The Cincinnati Enquirer
FLORENCE — The $37 million sale of Turfway Park is expected to be finalized in two weeks.
Officials involved in the deal had hoped to close the sale Monday, but they lacked a missing piece — a vote by the Kentucky Racing Commission. The state board must investigate the firms involved — Keeneland, Harrah's casino company and lottery provider GTECH — and approve the sale of the thoroughbred track to them.
An earlier meeting of the commission was postponed, but officials on Monday set the vote for March 16.
The commission had to review the applications of each of the three partners and ask, “Are they suitable for a license to operate a racetrack?” Turfway President Mark Simendinger said. “I don't know of any reason in the world why you would say any of those three were not suitable.”
The longer the sale takes, the more beneficial it could be for Turfway co-owner Jerry Carroll and Mr. Simendinger. The deal is structured so the current owners keep whatever is in the track's bank account. This month — featuring the track's biggest race, the Gallery Furniture.com Stakes on March 27 — is one of the busiest, and the race is the biggest money-maker.
The deal calls for the sale to be finalized by the end of the month.
Mr. Carroll announced just over six weeks ago that he was selling the thoroughbred track to the partnership. While Keeneland will bring its racing expertise and tradition to the table, the other two partners offer technological innovations that are basically new to the horse-racing industry.
The immediate assumption after the deal was announced was that the trio would pursue casino-style gambling at Turfway. But doing so could require a vote of the Kentucky General Assembly and possibly passage of a statewide constitutional amendment. Several state lawmakers have said they do not envision enough support for such a bill.
Lottery officials have since said they might have a way to offer casino-style gambling at tracks with only a change to existing lottery law.
Questions about the future of Turfway brought some harsh words last month at a meeting of the General Assembly's committee on licensing and occupations. Some members called the sale a ruse and a veiled attempt to bring casino-style gambling to Kentucky horse tracks.
The proposed new owners could face that again — another committee meeting is set for March 12.
But Bernie Hettel, executive director of the racing commission, said Monday he did not expect any concerns expressed by the committee to affect the sale vote. He said he would not have put the matter on the commission's March 16 agenda if he was not certain it would pass.
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Turfway sale should close mid-month
