Cincinnati Track Sues to Win Back 30 Racing Dates

The River Downs race track is suing the Ohio State Racing Commission to try to win back 30 fall racing dates the commission denied the Cincinnati thoroughbred track in November.

Officials of the Cincinnati race track will seek a preliminary injunction from Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Norman Murdock that would keep the Racing Commission from taking those 30 racing dates away. The dates are from Oct. 17 to Nov. 19.

The commission on Nov. 17 rejected River Downs’ application to race on those dates, saying they would conflict with dates at the Columbus-area Beulah Park track and possibly harm the betting handles and quality of racing at both tracks.

Beulah Park officials said overlapping racing dates between the tracks would cause a shortage of horses and hurt the betting handle at Beulah.

Racing Commission spokesman Les Skinner said the commission, which regulates three thoroughbred and four harness tracks in Ohio, has encountered other disputes over racing dates but never had one end up in court.

“We’ve had hassles over overlapping dates, but it’s never reached the court stage before,” he said.

Cincinnati-area horse players bet more than $11.2 million during River Downs’ 30-day fall meet last season, according to the Racing Commission. If River Downs loses those dates, the track would have only 117 racing dates scheduled for 1990, the fewest of any track in Ohio.

Beulah is scheduled for 152 racing days this year. River Downs spokesman Kevin Goemmer is concerned that horsemen, unsure of whether River Downs will run in the late fall and early winter, may choose not to enter their horses in the summer meet, April 21-Sept. 3.

“That’s the No. 1 question I’m asked: What’s going on with River Downs this fall?” Goemmer said. “The longer it goes on, (the more) we’re effectively denied those dates in everybody’s mind.”

River Downs has been running the fall meet since 1985. But Beulah Park President Charles Ruma objected to River Downs’ application to keep the dates this year, claiming a poor handle last year at Beulah Park resulted from overlapping dates with River Downs.

In a 47-day meet from Sept. 15 to Nov. 9 last year, Beulah handled $17,032,005.

The commission sided with Beulah Park officials and unanimously passed a proposal that eventually would deny River Downs’ application to race on those dates. Granting the dates would be contrary to the best interest of horse racing, the commission said.

River Downs General Manager Edward Hanessian told the commission in November, “Why is it in the best interest of racing to see Beulah Park go from 90 racing days in 1985 to 152 days already granted in 1990 and see River Downs cut from 147 in 1985 to 117 in 1990?”