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Lebanon Raceway owners want to build new track along I-75

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By Lynn Hulsey, Staff Writer Updated 8:26 PM Saturday, July 11, 2009

LEBANON— The general manager of Lebanon Raceway said owners are looking to build a new horse racing track and gambling facility along Interstate 75 between the Dayton Mall and Monroe.

General Manager Mel Hagemeyer said the owners are looking at the area around the Austin Boulevard, formerly the Austin Pike Interchange, now under construction, sites in Monroe and other possible locations. Funding is not in place but he said they’d like to open the new facility by fall 2010. He estimated 200-300 jobs would be added to the 100 now employed at the track.

Montgomery County Commissioner Dan Foley said county officials will quickly reach out to the race track owners about the possibility of locating here.

“I just like the idea of keeping some of this money in Ohio that’s traveling across state borders now,” Foley said.

Hagemeyer said he is disappointed that a majority of Warren County Commissioners don’t want expanded gambling on the Warren County fairgrounds property where horses have raced since 1948. But he said a location along I-75 would probably be better for business at the track, which has lost money for the last 7 or 8 years.

“We’re talking about spending a lot of money,” said Hagemeyer, estimating that the new facility would cost as much as $210 million and could eventually include a hotel.

He said the two companies that own Lebanon Raceway and Simulcast Center likely would combine and may need to seek a partner to obtain funding. He said Ohio racetracks are being given new life by the proposal to expand gambling because some of the proceeds will allow for bigger purses in horse races. The decline in purse sizes has marginalized Ohio tracks and caused owners to race their horses elsewhere, Hagemeyer said.

Ohio legislative leaders and Gov. Ted Strickland agreed Friday to a budget proposal to add video lottery terminals at Ohio’s seven racetracks, part of the effort to balance the 2010-2011 budget. Hagemeyer said Lebanon would probably be the only racetrack that would move to accommodate the expanded gambling. He said in the interim the slot machine gambling could occur in tents on land near the raceway that is not owned by Warren County.

Live horse racing ended June 7 at Lebanon and will resume in September. For now all the action at the track is on televisions, where gamblers bet on simulcast races from across the nation or play Keno.

Not surprisingly everyone interviewed there on Saturday supported expanded gambling.

“We want it. We’ve been wanting it,” said Doug Procter, 47, of Dayton. “We as horsemen, we need it. It brings more money to the track.”

While some of those interviewed talked about gambling helping racing, others said it would be a boon the overall economy, or that they would rather gamble in Ohio than drive to Indiana’s gambling boats.

“Why not keep it here in our state,” said Nan Lewis, 49, of Sabina. “I think it will keep some jobs and this area needs jobs,”

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-7455 or lhulsey@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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