Two months of live racing eliminated at Mountaineer

NEWELL - The West Virginia Racing Commission (WVRC) has agreed to cut two months from the 2010 live horse racing schedule at Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack and Resort.

During a much-anticipated meeting Monday, the WVRC approved an altered version of Mountaineer's initial request to shut down live racing in January, February, November, and December next year.

According to the 2010 racing calendar released Tuesday, Mountaineer will hold live horse racing five days a week from March 1 through Dec. 21.

There will be no live horse racing conducted in January or February, but the horsemen's area will remain open to allow training to continue during those months.

Mountaineer's racing schedule will remain at 210 days, the minimum number of racing days required by the state for the Hancock County resort to legally operate slot machines and table games.

The resort's original request to shut down live horse racing for four months of the year in 2010 met with dissension from the Mountaineer Park Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (HBPA), leading to extensive negotiations between the two.

HBPA Executive Director Maria Catignani said the group will not appeal the WVRC's decision.

"We are disappointed that we did not get year-round racing from the racing commission," she said. "We had hoped that things would have turned out a little bit differently."

Catignani added that the HBPA is about to continue negotiations with Mountaineer regarding the group's contract for 2010, but did not give further details.

Mountaineer Director of Public Relations Tamara Pettit stated the resort is "pleased that (the racing commission) has approved our calendar."

"The calendar calls for 10 months of racing, and we had previously tried to work out a compromise with the horsemen and had not been successful," she said.

Mountaineer's original request also raised discord with West Virginia State Delegates Randy Swartzmiller and Pat McGeehan, both of whom feared that the end of year-round racing at Mountaineer would have a significant negative impact on Hancock County's economy.

McGeehan, who attended Monday's meeting and addressed the WVRC about his opposition to the end of year-round racing, said he remains opposed to the commission's decision despite the apparent compromise.

"I'm not fully content with the decision by the racing commission, because I believe it does not reflect the original spirit of the law," he said. "However, I was happy to see that two of the proposed four months will not be eliminated (from the 2010 calendar), and will remain active and part of the schedule."

McGeehan also referred to a previous statement in which he claimed the schedule change was an attempted manipulation of the law resulting from government representatives granting special privileges to private businesses, citing Mountaineer's special privilege to have slot machines and table games.

"Special government privilege inevitably results in corruption and, ultimately, people in our community get hurt because of this," McGeehan said. "I want to ensure that my position is made loud and clear - I will not manipulate the law or award special-privilege rights to private individuals or private business."

Mountaineer will continue to hold live horse racing Friday through Tuesday until Jan. 1, unless track or weather conditions are deemed unsafe.