Countywide : Fair Board Rejects Bettors’ Petition

The Ventura County Fair Board turned down a petition Tuesday signed by hundreds of horse-racing fans asking that the fair’s off-track betting center not be moved to a tent during fair time.

The petition with 450 signatures and a list of complaints was presented to the board by Ojai resident Jackie McDaniel, spokeswoman for a loosely formed organization of bettors called Horse Racing Investors.

But the bettors got little sympathy from the board.

“We run a fairground. Maybe you all should take your vacations during fair time or take your business elsewhere,” director Dennis Orrock said.

The betting center broadcasts horse races, including those at Del Mar, Hollywood Park and Santa Anita, on giant-screen televisions. Since it opened in 1977, the center has been moved from a fair building to a tent for six weeks every year at fair time. This year, the fair runs from Aug. 15 to 26.

Bettors cannot see the screens in the tent and wind blows papers around, McDaniel said. The group complained that the regular facility has long refreshment lines, dirty bathrooms and no tellers in the nonsmoking area.

“I can tell you that at least the people who signed this petition will not be coming to off-track betting during the fair this year because of the tent,” McDaniel said. “We’re considering hiring buses and going to Santa Barbara.”

McDaniel pressed the board for a definite deadline on construction of a permanent satellite wagering building.

Fairgrounds General Manager Mike Paluszak said state funds have been approved for the building but bonds must still be sold. The 30,000-square-foot building is scheduled to open in the spring of 1992, he said.

After the meeting, Paluszak said he hoped that patrons of off-track wagering would look at the larger picture and realize that the concessions now are small compared to the benefit of a $4.8-million facility.