THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 16, 1994 TAG: 9410160089
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEPHANIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 107 lines
So, you won't be able to sit in the bleachers of a Hampton Roads race track, shouting, ``Go faster, you nag!'' as horses stampede through the final stretch.
The next best thing, an off-track betting parlor, probably won't be that far away.
Colonial Downs, which won permission to build the state's only race track in New Kent County, wants to open three of the betting parlors in South Hampton Roads.
Up to six off-track betting sites will be allowed. Two are proposed for Virginia Beach, and one for Chesapeake.
Voters in both cities have approved off-track betting.
Hampton Roads is slated to get more than half of the betting parlors because it is the largest population center where they are already permitted.
Other sites might be placed in Henrico County, Brunswick County and a Peninsula city - either Newport News or Hampton, said Mike Mulvihill, a spokesman for Colonial Downs.
There won't be any in Northern Virginia, though. Voters there turned down the idea.
The sites will be selected by Colonial Downs but must be approved by the Virginia Racing Commission, the same group that awarded the track to New Kent on Wednesday.
``I wouldn't say it's etched in stone,'' said VRC Commissioner Robert G. Beck, of Newport News. ``But I would say I'd be very disappointed and very much surprised if Hampton Roads didn't get one or two.''
It is unclear when the commission will rule on the sites.
``In the next few weeks,'' a weary Beck predicted Thursday, then immediately gave himself some wriggle room. ``Well, in a month. We hope in the next month or two.''
Off-track betting parlors are considered crucial to the horse-racing industry, which has witnessed a steady decline in track attendance and betting over the past two decades.
Some racing fans say they actually prefer parlors to a track because they are more convenient.
When Maryland opened its four parlors last year, they pumped millions of dollars into the industry.
Although Virginia Beach residents have already approved off-track betting, the City Council has not discussed the idea. Council member Louis R. Jones said he doesn't want any parlors, which he described as ``unsavory,'' in his city.
``I probably would not be in favor of an off-track betting site,'' Jones said. ``I don't think that it would be worth it to me.''
Colonial Downs has proposed placing Virginia Beach off-track-betting sites at the Oceanfront and near the Norfolk border.
Even though Beach voters have endorsed the general concept, the City Council could have final say on whether a parlor is permitted. Off-track sites would require additional zoning permits, said Katherine Jackson, a city spokeswoman.
``We certainly are not going to go where we're not wanted,'' said Mulvihill, the spokesman for Colonial Downs. ``But I think we need to remind certain public officials that their voters were the ones who approved it.''
Off-track betting parlors are usually filled with bars, TVs and betting machines.
Take Poor Jimmy's Family Restaurant, an off-track-betting operation in the northeastern corner of Maryland.
On a recent Friday afternoon, cars packed the overflowing parking lot.
The parlor was filled mostly with retired men. In the large dining rooms, most of the patrons were either diligently checking out the racing forms, line by line, or gazing at big-screen televisions showing simulcasts of California races.
``Number 12, hmmmm, nah, I'm not going to bet that one,'' said a 70ish man in a pinstriped suit and thick glasses who used a magnifying glass to read the forms. ``Number 14. Naaah. Not a good race. Not a good race.''
In another room a 30ish man pounded the table and yelled: ``Third? Third? NO WAY! THIS RACE IS FIXED!''
Another off-track site, The Riverboat on the Potomac, in Charles County, Md., draws a number of serious racing types who don't like to be bothered by small talk.
``We have four different rooms,'' said Penny Flanagan, who owns the operation with her husband, Thomas. ``It's really quiet in the formal dining room. In the back room, which is kind of like the grandstand area, they're not so mild.''
In Maryland, off-track betting parlors get 4 percent of the total wagered, which usually is just enough to cover additional expenses, such as the armed security guards required by the state racing commission, Flanagan said.
The parlors usually make their profits from the sale of food and alcoholic beverages, she said.
Donald R. Price, executive secretary of the Virginia Racing Commission, expects Virginia off-track betting parlors to get a higher percentage of the total wagered.
But once they pay out-of-state race simulcasters, the breeders, taxes and purses - it's unclear what the exact percentage will be, Price said.
``Certainly, they'll profit more'' than the Maryland parlors, Price said.
Virginia law requires Colonial Downs to own more than half of any off-track betting operation, Price said. The company could build its own parlors or enter into joint ownership agreements with someone else.
Flanagan said the change to an off-track betting parlor has been good for her restaurant, because it once had only a seasonal clientele.
But, she added, restaurants that already are doing well year-round might want to reconsider going into the betting business.
``The people don't eat and drink a lot,'' Flanagan said. ``They're serious.'' MEMO: Staff writer Karen Weintraub contributed to this report.
KEYWORDS: RACE TRACKS HORSE RACING by CNB