Colorado racetrack could reopen in 10 years

Horse track casinos have been a hot topic in Colorado, but for one Pueblo track owner it hits close to home. Craig Law is co-owner of the Southern Colorado Gaming and Events Center. Behind the building is a greyhound track that is deteriorating. “It's been at least 10 years since a dog has raced here,” he said.

He said if Amendment 68 passes, which is for horse race track casino gambling, he will put the course to good use. “What we can do with this 40 acres of land in the south end of Pueblo is we would actually put in hotels and restaurants, obviously a race track and it would be an asset to the south end,” Law said.

According to the proposed amendment, the K-12 education budget would increase by about US$ 100 million. Cathy Garcia, president of the advocacy group Action 22, has her concerns. “There are 178 school districts in the state, how are we going to divide that up?” she asked.

The proposed amendment said for the 2014-15 school year public schools received about US$ 7,021 per student. The amendment said Arapahoe Park is the only horse track that can turn into a casino next year and it could provide up to US$ 114.5 million, or about US$ 132 per student, more a year starting in the 2016-17 school year.

Garcia said Amendment 68 is a gamble for Pueblo. “If there are unintended consequences there is no way to fix it unless you go back to the vote of the people,” she said.

Garcia said horse track casinos could hurt casinos that are already in Black Hawk, Central City and Cripple Creek. She also said that the issue should be decided by people who live in the counties with potential horse tracks, not by everyone in the state.

If Amendment 68 does get voted in Pueblo’s horse track will have to run 30 races a year for five years before it can open a casino. The earliest the county would have it is 2019.