DATE: Monday, October 20, 1997              TAG: 9710180008

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B8   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Editorial 
                                            LENGTH:   32 lines

LACKLUSTER FINISH COLONIAL DOWNS LIMPED THROUGH ITS FIRST THOROUGHBRED SEASON.

Colonial Downs is off to a slow start, finishing its maiden 30-day thoroughbred racing season with unimpressive attendance figures and even more disappointing grosses at the the betting windows. Even these figures may have been unusually high due to excitement about pari-mutual betting finally coming to the Old Dominion.

Is anyone surprised?

Horse racing is a dying sport in this country. Racing can only by supported by coupling it with lucrative off-track betting, slot machines and other electronic games like keno.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported this week that at season's end, Colonial Downs officials reported averaging only about 3,600 race fans a day - 400 less than predicted. They handled about $183,000 a day in bets on live races, significantly short of the $400,000 track officials had predicted.

Gamblers who like to bet on a sure thing might want to wager on how long it will be before race officials begin pressuring the General Assembly to legalize slot machines and video gambling at the track as a way to keep it financially afloat. After analyzing this season's lower-than-expected returns, Colonial Downs may soon be asking the state to allow more than six off-track betting locations to off-set their losses at the track.

We urge state legislators to continue to stand fast against allowing the gaming industry to grow in Virginia.

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