But her neighbor Monique Hicks, 48, said bring it on. “It will bring more jobs.”
There is no guarantee the Lebanon Raceway owners will move their track to Montgomery County, but it’s a possibility now that the legislature has approved a budget that allows video lottery terminals at seven tracks, including Lebanon. The Warren County Commission has said it won’t permit slot machines at the county-owned fairgrounds in Lebanon, which has hosted harness racing since 1948.
Strickland’s budget bill will allow the raceway to move as long as it stays within 50 miles of the original track and doesn’t relocate to a county that already has live horse racing. State Rep. Clayton Luckie, D-Dayton, said he and county officials have been pitching three locations, including the Austin Boulevard area. He wouldn’t specify the other two locations.
Montgomery County Administrator Deborah Feldman said there are “challenges” in locating a race track at the Austin site, which is planned for major commercial and residential development, but the county has other suitable locations.
Raceway owners have been contacted by several financial backers, co-owner Lou Carlo said last week. But the owners have had ties since 2006 to Delaware North Companies of Buffalo, N.Y., which manages 10,000 VLTs in five states.
Carlo said owners are scouting Interstate 75 sites from Montgomery County to Ohio 63. Warren County commissioners have said they may contest in court the governor’s plan for VLTs.
“Our first priority is making sure we’re some place we’re wanted,” said John Carlo, Lou’s son and racetrack president.
Keep reading: Raceway owners seeking "first-class" destination
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