Update: The NM Racing Commission received five Letters of Intent from groups wishing to build a racetrack/racino in Raton. The five made the commission-mandated deadline of July 30, 2018 for entities to express a desire to submit an application. Originally July 30 was the deadline for application submission, but the Commission during it’s July regular meeting had said it would delay the submission deadline in favor of a request by four of the five operating tracks to conduct a feasibility study on a new track and what impact it would have on the industry statewide.
The commission then did an about face, met in emergency closed session and has said the formal applications are due August 17.
The five groups who submitted Letters of Intent for Raton include:
Jicarilla Apache Nation, Levi Pesata, Pres.;
Gillmann Group, Fred Gillmann, Pres., Las Vegas, NV;
La Mesa Racetrack & Casino, Michael Moldenhauer, Mississauga, Ontario, CAN.
VinKay LLC, Steve Vincent, Manager, Ft. Lauderdale, FL and current owners of the old La Mesa Park property;
White Sand Gaming, Atlantic City, NJ, James Nickerson, Managing Director.
Other Letters of Intent were received from:
Hidalgo Downs, for a track in Lordsburg, NM;
L&M Racing LLC, for a track in Clovis, NM;
Full House Resorts, of Las Vegas, NV for a track in Clovis, NM;
Clovis Racetrack and Casino, majority owner Shaun Hubbard for a track in Clovis, NM;
City of Las Vegas, NM, the San Miguel Economic Development Council;
Coronado Partners, LLC, Tom Krumland Managing Director, for a track in Tucumcari, NM.
The next NM Racing Commission meeting is set for August 23 in Ruidoso.
Following Information obtained from the 7/30/18 Santa Fe New Mexican by Thom Cole
ALBUQUERQUE — The state Racing Commission, reversing a decision made just 11 days earlier, voted at a hastily called meeting Monday to restart the process of licensing a new horse track.
The commission met in secret before setting a new deadline of Aug. 17 for applications for the racing license.
“We did this because the commission decided to… Plain and simple,” Commissioner Chairman Ray Willis told an attorney for four tracks when the lawyer asked why the commission was changing course.
The tracks — in Albuquerque, Ruidoso, Farmington and Hobbs — have cited concerns about how a new track would affect their individual operations and the racing industry as a whole.
Following the tracks’ request for the feasibility study, the Racing Commission on July 18 halted the application process. It lifted a Monday deadline for applications but said those who planned to apply had to file a letter of intent by that time.
Before Monday’s deadline, eight groups notified the Racing Commission they planned to apply for the new track license.
Three groups are competing to put a track in the Clovis area, and two are vying to build one in Raton. Other groups filed letters of intent to apply for tracks in Tucumcari, Lordsburg and Las Vegas, N.M.
The Fulton family, owner of Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino, had announced it would file an application for a track in the Clovis area but pulled out of the competition.
Canadian real estate developer Michael Moldenhauer wrote to the Racing Commission that he is part of a group that again will seek a license for a track in Raton.
The commission in 2008 issued a license to a Moldenhauer-led group for a Raton track, but it pulled the license two years later because of repeated construction delays and questions about financing. The group unsuccessfully fought in court to get the license back.
The decision by the Racing Commission to restart the application process for the new track license increases the chances the plum will be handed out before Gov. Susana Martinez leaves office Dec. 31.
New Mexico racetracks also have slot machine casinos, which generate tens of millions of dollars in revenue every year.
Martinez appointed the racing commissioners. And some of those who plan to apply for the license have deep political connections to the governor. The governor has said the process of issuing the license wouldn’t be politicized.
The Racing Commission announced in May it was accepting applications for what would be the state’s sixth racetrack and casino, or so-called racino.
The state’s agreements with American Indian tribes that operate casinos provide for a maximum of six racinos. In exchange for limiting off-reservation gaming, the state receives a share of the tribes’ take from their slot machines.
Raton had requested the Racing Commission push back its original Monday deadline for license applications by 90 days, saying a potential applicant needed more time to examine and possibly prepare a proposal for a track in that northeastern New Mexico city.
Scott Berry, city manager for Raton, said Monday he didn’t know whether the potential applicant could meet the new application deadline of Aug. 17.
In addition to the Moldenhauer group, a Florida corporation called Vinkay, run by Steven Vincent and Richard Kay, informed the Racing Commission that it intends to apply for a license for a Raton track.
The three groups that notified the Racing Commission that they plan to submit proposals for a track in the Clovis area are Full House Resorts of Las Vegas, Nev.; a group headed by Shaun Hubbard, son of longtime Ruidoso Downs racetrack owner R.D. Hubbard; and L&M Entertainment, a joint venture of a Laguna Pueblo-owned company and an Illinois company.
The Fulton family decided not to seek a license for another track so it could focus on running the Sunland Park racino, said Rick Baugh, general manager of the track and casino.
The family wants to honor and push forward the dream of its father, Stan Fulton, to make the racino a destination resort, Baugh said. Fulton, who died in January, had owned the track since 2000.
The others that filed letters of intent to apply for the new track license were:
• Coronado Partners for a track in Tucumcari. Its managing member is Tom Krumland, owner of six auto dealerships in Roswell and Carlsbad.
• Hidalgo Downs for a track in Lordsburg. Denis Floge, a former manager of a New Mexico casino, is the CEO.
• The city of Las Vegas and the Las Vegas San Miguel Economic Development Corp. for a track in Las Vegas. The letter of intent didn’t identify a private firm that would apply for the license.
Please open the Racetrack back up in Raton, New Mexico it was the best place to go in my hometown it use to bring people from all over that helped Raton with jobs and entertainment. THANK YOU