Running Aces Harness Park's general manger says that including the Anoka County track in a racino proposal at the Legislature would be a low-risk gamble that would create a minimum of 500 jobs while generating more state tax revenue.
"You can't have a law that creates benefits for just one licensed entity," Running Aces General Manager Robert Farinella said of Racino Now's proposal to commit $40 million to a Vikings stadium if the state will agree to slot machines at Canterbury Park in Shakopee.
Running Aces, which begins its third season of live racing on June 1, was left out of the latest racino proposal because of opposition from northern Minnesota tribes, said Mary Manney, deputy executive director of the Minnesota Racing Commission, which first learned of the proposal when she received an e-mail from Randy Sampson, president of Canterbury Park, just before an announcement was made.
But Running Aces, in Columbus, is 60 miles from Grand Casino in Hinckley, Farinella said. Canterbury Park is virtually next door to Mystic Lake Casino in Shakopee, he noted.
"I don't know what's driving this," Farinella said. "It's certainly more than just consideration for current competition in the marketplace.
"We believe that without us as part of the package, the optimum tax value to the state will not be realized."
John McCarthy, executive director of the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association, said last week that any changes would not lessen the resolve of northern tribes to oppose a single racino at Canterbury Park. But a spokesperson for the Mille Lacs band said the tribe believes racino gambling at Running Aces would more likely affect business at the Grand Casinos in Hinckley and Mille Lacs.
"In hearings that I've sat in, prior to the bill being introduced, most of the opposition came from Grand Casino," Manney said. She said Hinckley city officials also opposed racino gambling at Running Aces.
