Stanley Crowe lost four horses and equipment in the fire and he estimates his loss is $200,000. Charles French lost one horse and equipment for a total of $100,000. Neither man has received any compensation for their lost property or income from future race winnings.
Mary Dawson lost two horses and equipment that she values at $150,000. According to the lawsuit, Dawson received $28,000 from the Ohio Harness Horseman’s Association and $2,000 from the fund that was set up through LCNB National Bank after the fire to disburse more than $80,000 donated.
Ernst said two of his clients had a little insurance to cover their losses and the third was uninsured. Warren County received $532,000 from its insurance company to rebuild the barn and make other repairs.
Ernst has named the county, Lebanon Raceway Entertainment, the bank, the horseman’s association and others in the suit. He said civil suits such as this are designed to sort out complex situations. There are questions about who should have received the funds raised through donations and Ernst said he believes the county - as the owner of the land where the raceway is located - may bear some liability. The official report from the state fire marshal determined the cause of the fire was undeterminable.
“Civil cases are often a truth-seeking process to try and get answers individuals feel are somewhat lacking,” he said. “The effort is to get answers on the table and then try and assess how differing liabilities may be evaluated and compensation provided.”
Jerry Knappenberger of the Ohio Harness Horseman’s Association said owners and trainers who were members of the group received about $250,000 from an insurance policy and the national association raised about $120,000. Those funds were distributed to horsemen even if they weren’t association members.
Assistant Prosecutor Keith Anderson’s opinion is the county is not on the hook in this case.
“The county rents that property to racing associations; we don’t control the use of that property,” he said.
In a separate incident, the county was named in another lawsuit filed by a man who was injured when a horse bolted through a gate at the track. The county, the fair board and all other defendants in that case - except the Lebanon Trotting Club - were dismissed out of that case in November. Anderson said the parties all agreed the commissioners and other county defendants had no control over the use of the property and can’t be found at fault.
The Lebanon Trotting Club and Miami Valley Trotting share use of the racetrack during alternating racing seasons. Their attorneys could not be reached for comment. With the advent of VLTs at horse racing tracks the racing companies are looking to move away from the Warren County fairground track.
County Commissioner Dave Young said the county has been in a unique situation since the track opened in the 1950s. Since the prosecutor’s office serves as the county’s attorneys he said while lawsuits are bothersome they are not costly to taxpayers.
“Whether we like it or not it is common to the landlord tenant relationship, if you own a commercial building and something bad goes on inside that building in many cases you’re going to get named in that,” he said. “You’re not going to be liable for it, it’ll get dismissed, but a lot of times people sue first and ask questions later.”
Contact this reporter at (513) 696-4525 or dcallahan@coxohio.com.
About the Author