When the three owners of The Downs last met with the Moriarty City Council in February, Downs President Paul Blanchard told the council he had been told by Kinder Morgan that the site on the 500-acre King property north of Interstate 40 could not be touched.

Kinder Morgan has identified several engineering solutions to the issue and proposed meeting with The Downs, but have had no response, according to Emily Mir Thompson, manager of public relations and corporate communications for Kinder Morgan.

"While there are no negotiations currently taking place between Kinder Morgan and The Downs, it is not through lack of trying by my company," she wrote in an e-mail last week.

The pipeline, which was designed for agricultural, not commercial purposes, is one of the issues holding up the move because any activities near the line could cause damage.

Thompson outlined three options proposed by Kinder Morgan that would enable the racetrack to locate on the proposed parcel. Those options include rerouting the pipeline around the entire racetrack development; rerouting the pipeline around affected areas of the racetrack infield and installing additional pipeline protection equipment; or alter the site grading plan in the racetrack infield to maintain 4 feet of pipeline coverage.

The Downs would be required to assume responsibility for the cost of the alternatives, Thompson said, but Kinder Morgan has worked to develop cost-effective options with one solution costing less than $500,000.

Calls and e-mails placed to The Downs staff requesting comment went unreturned.

The pipeline has been there since the early 1980s, Moriarty Mayor Adan Encinias said. About a decade ago, there was even talk about putting the new crosswind runway over the pipeline at the nearby Moriarty Municipal Airport, which was quickly shot down because of the risk involved, he said.

"There should have been a red flag right away," he said. "The pipeline can't be the only reason for the holdup."

Kinder Morgan isn't the only entity that hasn't heard from The Downs in a while. The last correspondence city officials have had with Blanchard was about two months ago, Encinias said.

Encinias did receive a call last week from the State Racing Commission asking for updates to the infrastructure and pipeline situations. The racing commission approved the move to Moriarty in May 2008.

"I heard no indication the deal is done or broken," Encinias said. "But I think we'll all feel more comfortable with a land deal."

Encinias said another option would be for The Downs to purchase other land parcels in the area that avoid the pipeline.

"There are landowners who are willing to work with Mr. Blanchard," Encinias said. "There are lots of properties that would work. But like I told the governor, our priorities are adding infrastructure to the north, and we're treating it like it's going to happen."

It could take nine to 12 months to have the new Downs up and running in Moriarty once a land deal is completed, he said.

At the last legislative session, The Downs received a lease extension with the New Mexico State Fair until Jan. 11, 2011, with an option to extend until 2012.

Although there has been no confirmation from Blanchard, Encinias said signs seem to point that The Downs is moving forward with plans for the move.

Encinias said he contacted The Downs' consulting engineer Mark Goodwin about three weeks ago, in preparation of a meeting with former Gov. Toney Anaya to discuss obtaining stimulus funding for infrastructure improvements.

"Their engineer is planning like it's going to happen," Encinias said. "Mr. Goodwin delivered the plans for bringing infrastructure to the King property right away. We just need to pick a place to meet so we can move forward."