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Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Possible Downs Move Upsets Track
By Rene Romo
Journal Southern Bureau
LAS CRUCES — A Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino lobbyist made it clear Tuesday that the track would not welcome Ruidoso Downs moving to the Mesilla Valley.
Ruidoso Downs Racing announced Monday that it will seek state Racing Commission approval to move its horse track and casino with 300 slot machines to a site still to be determined in Las Cruces.
A formal application to have racing start in Las Cruces in 2011 will be presented to the Racing Commission by the board's meeting Thursday.
Ruidoso Downs president and general manager Ann McGovern said ownership's preference is to stay in Lincoln County, but that can only happen if the Legislature approves a lower tax on the racino's "net win." Net win represents the amount of money bet on slot machines minus payouts and regulatory fees.
Ruidoso Downs has sought unsuccessfully since 2008 to get tax relief from the Legislature, and will try again when lawmakers convene next year. Ruidoso Downs had wanted a 10 percent tax on the first $10 million of a racino's net win, rather than the flat 26 percent tax now in place.
"If we are not successful with our legislative goals in 2010, our plan is to move" to Las Cruces, McGovern said.
Sunland Park Racetrack lobbyist Scott Scanland said track officials will examine Ruidoso Downs' application closely when it is submitted. "The recent history of Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino proves that we aggressively protect our customer base," Scanland added, while declining to elaborate.
Sunland Park Racetrack owner Stanley Fulton in 2004 threatened to revoke a promised bequest of half ownership in the track to New Mexico State University if Gov. Bill Richardson backed a Jemez Pueblo effort to develop an off-reservation casino in Anthony, or within 50 miles of the racetrack.
At its Oct. 29 meeting in Hobbs, the Racing Commission gave its support to a lower tax rate for Ruidoso Downs.
McGovern said Ruidoso Downs has seen declining revenues since the Mescalero Apache tribe opened the Ruidoso area's third casino on U.S. 70 in 2003. Ruidoso Downs' net win fell from $14 million in 2002 to just under $8 million in 2008, McGovern said.
In a news release, Ruidoso Downs' primary owner R.D. Hubbard said he wanted the racing and casino operations to remain in Ruidoso, but added, "We can't continue to bleed money in an inequitable business environment."
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