It's an odds-on favorite that the Downs at Albuquerque Racetrack and Casino will move to Moriarty, said Mark Goodwin, president of D. Mark Goodwin & Associates.

"The racino is going to happen" and his boss, Downs President Paul Blanchard, is pushing him to break ground sometime in November.

Goodwin spoke at a planning and zoning special session on Sept. 16.

Blanchard plans on holding races 53 days out of the year; the Moriarty facility will function as a casino with slot machines, simulcast racing and other special events, Goodwin told planning and zoning commissioners and city councilors.

According to Goodwin, the property will be developed in at least two phases and second phase will include a hotel. The first phase includes the racetrack, casino, grandstands and jockey club. There will also be Interstate 40 roadwork next spring as part of the first phase.

There are two pipeline easements running across the 500 acres but Goodwin said they didn't present a problem.

"We're not moving any buildings over. No buildings will go on top of nonstructures," Goodwin said regarding the pipelines.

Goodwin handed out a new master plan for the area, which included the King master plan that was approved by city planning and zoning in about 1998, said Sheila Murphy, city planning and zoning director.

The King plan included a golf course, club house facilities, residences, commercial uses, and neighborhood services and parks on 728 acres.

Blanchard only plans to use 500 of those acres for the racino.

Making the zoning districts from the King master plan fit the zoning districts from Blanchard's master plan won't be as difficult as it might seem if they use a development agreement, said City Attorney Chuck DuMars.

A development agreement describes the infrastructure, who is responsible for traffic and any unusual planning and zoning circumstances that may come up, DuMars explained to commissioners and councilors.

"The development agreement is a road map. No time is wasted. Everyone will know who is doing what," said Catherine Robinson, an attorney who works with DuMars.

An agreement will not erase the need to remap the entire area.

"All the planning and zoning ordinances and usual processes apply," Robinson said.

The city's legal firm is preparing an initial draft of a development agreement that will be circulated to the engineers from the city and the racetrack, commissioners, councilors and "anyone with a stake in the process," Robinson said.

DuMars promised to have a development agreement ready in time for another special session on Sept. 30 that the commissioners and councilors can review.