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Lebanon racetrack may face competition from Dayton

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By Ted Cox, Staff Writer Updated 12:42 AM Saturday, February 4, 2012

LEBANON — Lebanon Raceway officials expressed concern Friday after learning another racetrack company’s plan for a “racino” in Dayton now features a harness-racing track instead of a thoroughbred track.

Harness racing has been Lebanon’s specialty for more than 70 years at the track located at the Warren County Fairbrounds.

“While we are not afraid of healthy competition, we are concerned about the economic impact this move would have for local communities and the horse-racing industry,” Lebanon Raceway co-owner Keith Nixon Jr. said in an email. “For VLTs (video lottery terminals) to provide meaningful economic support for Ohio’s fragile economy, it’s important that each track meets its full potential. Creating unnecessary competition between tracks would be counterproductive to meeting these goals.”

Penn National Gaming Inc. announced Thursday a plan to relocate Raceway Park, a harness-racing facility in Toledo to Dayton, while Columbus’s Beulah Park, a thoroughbred track, would be moved to a suburb of Youngstown. That’s a switch from Penn’s earlier proposal that would have moved Beulah Park to Dayton and Toledo’s facility to Youngstown.

Penn wants to relocate the racetracks to avoid competing with its two new casinos under construction in Columbus and Toledo.

Lebanon Raceway is looking to invest more than $150 million to build a new facility along Interstate 75 in Warren County that also includes video slots. A site Lebanon Raceway is looking closely is at the corner of Ohio 63 and Union Road.

“We’re been supporting the Dayton metropolitan area for a long time down here,” Lebanon Raceway co-owner John Carlo said. “I don’t think we need any help covering the Dayton market. I think by the time we get it all put together, we’ll be able to take care of Montgomery County and Dayton just fine.”

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