Harness racing in Anoka County: What would track bring?

By Darlene Prois/Patricia Lopez

Star Tribune

      For as long as anyone can remember, the only thing that grew on the soggy, sandy 165-acre parcel in Columbus Township was hay and scrub trees. But now that the $47 million harness racing track proposed for the site is officially a go, this plot is sprouting plans and dreams.

      To Anoka County Commissioner Dan Erhart, the new track and card room represent a jewel that will help balance the entertainment scales between the north and south metro areas. Harness track aficionado Greg Budach can almost feel the bumping of his sulky around the hard 5/8-mile track. Township resident John Mastel hopes for a restaurant, retail stores, maybe a hotel. Others hope -- and some fear -- that the new track will bring the slap of cards and poker chips, or even the ding-ding-ding of slot machines.

      At the State Capitol on Thursday, much of the talk switched abruptly from Gov. Tim Pawlenty's discussions about a casino at the Mall of America to the harness track, approved a day earlier by the Minnesota Racing Commission.

      House Speaker Steve Sviggum, R-Kenyon, said the track will be well-positioned to add casino-style gambling, becoming a racino.

      Canterbury Park in Shakopee has been pushing for years to turn its racetrack and card club into a racino by the highly lucrative addition of slot machines.

      Operators have said that could bring the state $100 million upfront and up to $100 million a year.

      Sviggum said that if Canterbury gets a racino, Anoka should as well. "I see no reason why that couldn't bring in $200 million to $300 million a year for the state," he said.

      He urged the track owners to consider a partnership with the Red Lake, Leech Lake and White Earth Indian bands and said that would be a better option than having the Indians pursue a casino at the Mall of America.

      Talk of a casino for the mall surfaced after a private meeting in Edmonton, Alberta, last month between Pawlenty and the Ghermezian family, which owns 50 percent of the mall.

      "We did talk about the possibility of a casino" in the mall's phase two development, Pawlenty said, "but no specific commitments were made."

      Talk of a casino, however, is premature, said Jim Druck, CEO of Southwest Casino, a developer of the new harness track.

      "We don't even have our eye on that at the moment," Druck said. "The people in Columbus Township have embraced the racetrack, but they've indicated they have concerns about the racino. We have to listen to them. There's lots of things we have to do before we'd take that next step."

      Among the steps they might take this year could be a push for all-breeds simulcasting and the elimination of the 50-day racing season requirement before the card room could open, Druck said.

"That would be beneficial to everyone," he said.

      But for the moment, Druck's partner in the track, Southwest Casino of Minneapolis and its partner, the MTR Gaming Group of West Virginia, which also operates other properties, have put all legislation plans on hold.

      "We haven't even met to discuss what we're trying to do this year," Druck said. "We put all future planning on the shelf on October 20th to focus on trying to resolve our issues with the [Thoroughbred] horsemen."

      MTR Gaming's flagship property, Mountaineer Race Track and Gaming Resort in West Virginia, features a casino with 3,220 slot machines, a 350-room luxury hotel, a Thoroughbred racetrack, golf course, theater and spa, but several of its recently acquired properties are much simpler. Scioto Downs in Columbus, Ohio, and Jackson Trotters in Michigan are harness tracks that have nothing more than live racing and simulcasting.

      "We're going into markets where we think we can grow the simulcast-signal sales," said Rose Mary Williams, director of racing for MTR. "We think that we can increase the interest in harness-track racing."

      "This is something that Minnesota is lacking, and you have a lot of history with harness," she added. "It will be a good thing."

      Other people, however, fear different agendas.

      "Anybody who doesn't see that this is not about harness racing is stupid. This is about casinos," said John McCarthy, executive director of the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association, which represents all but the three northern Chippewa bands. "Harness racing is not a big item in Minnesota, but casinos are. This is about creating a situation where they can put gambling in."

      Pawlenty put all Minnesota tribes and bands on notice a year ago that if they wanted to retain their monopoly on casino gambling, they would have to start sharing their revenues with the state.

      Until recently, development has been slow to come to Columbus Township's commercial corridor. But almost as soon as the proposal for the harness track became public more than a year ago, Planning Commission Chairman John Mastel began receiving inquiries.

      "Businesses said they'd be interested in coming out to Columbus Township if and when we get this racetrack," Mastel said. "As soon as everything is chiseled in stone with a final purchase agreement, I would expect some activity."

      He is among the township officials who think the track -- and the $315,000 that developers have pledged to pay to the township in taxes and fees each year -- is a godsend.

      County Commissioner Erhart also says the track is a perfect fit. Because the county already has the National Sports Center, the Tournament Players Club and the potential for a Vikings stadium, the county is well on its way to become "a tremendous entertainment destination," he said.

      "We think it fits in very well with the equestrian interests we have in the county," Erhart said

      "There's potential to be involved in some of the gaming they're talking in the southern part of the metro, and maybe be part of the solution to the state's economic woes. If non-Native American gaming is offered in southern metro communities, the same should be offered in the north."