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Thursday, May 22, 2008

Commission Likely To Vote on Downs Move Tuesday

By Charles D. Brunt
Journal Staff Writer
      The state Racing Commission is likely to decide Tuesday whether to allow the Downs at Albuquerque to leave its racetrack/casino at Expo New Mexico and move to a planned $65 million racino in Moriarty.
       Julian Luna, commission executive director, says the racino's application to renew its racing license at the Moriarty site has been thoroughly reviewed. And he says the application should be ready for a vote at the Tuesday meeting, slated for 10 a.m., at the commission's office in Albuquerque.
       Neither Luna nor attorney Chris Coppin, who is representing the Racing Commission in the matter, are speculating on whether the commission is likely to approve the relocation.
       “At the end of the day, the commission will make the decision that's going to be in the best interests of horse racing in New Mexico,” Luna said last week.
       Paul Blanchard, Downs at Albuquerque president, is seeking state approval to move the racetrack and casino to a 500-acre parcel at the northeast corner of Interstate 40 and N.M. 41 in Moriarty.
       When pitching the relocation to the Racing Commission in May 2007, Blanchard's architects touted a massive facility that would include a one-mile racetrack, 22 barns, 1,512 stalls, a travel center/truck stop, multistory hotel, RV park, indoor equestrian center, outdoor show ring, paddock/amphitheater, advanced veterinary clinic, private fourth-floor grandstand suites, steak house, food court and no fewer than five bars.
       The facility also would allow Blanchard to more than double the number of the Downs' 330 slot machines to 715.
       Blanchard — a high-dollar campaign contributor and political ally to Gov. Bill Richardson — said the new facility would nearly triple the taxes the Downs pays to the state, growing from $4,812,196 in 2006 to $12,552,898 in 2009.
       Fred Peralta, former Expo New Mexico general manager, and others have expressed concerns that the move would cause the state-owned fairgrounds in Albuquerque to lose $2 million a year in rent generated by the racino and could end a long-standing tradition of horse racing at the New Mexico State Fair.
       Coppin, who retired from the state Attorney General's Office in January, is representing the Racing Commission on issues regarding the proposed relocation — a role normally assigned to an assistant attorney general.
       But because Attorney General Gary King's family owns the property Blanchard plans to buy for the new racino, King has recused his office from handling any issues related to the move, spokesman Phil Sisneros said last week.
       Coppin said parties with an interest in horse racing have reviewed the Downs' inch-thick application, including horsemen, other racinos, tribal officials, Racing Commission staff and the Racing Commission — whose five members were appointed by Richardson.
       “People who have a real interest in it have had an opportunity to comment on it” at various public meetings, Coppin said.
   

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