INSIDE

Race track group looks at other location

By Meg Olson

With rumors milling about that EQTAH is packing up and shelving plans for a horse racing facility in Point Roberts, company representative James Ough is adamant that Point Roberts is still at the top of their list. “We are doing everything we can to put it in Point Roberts,” Ough said.

He admitted the project was hitting a few more lumps than anticipated and they were considering an alternate location on the north side of APA Road near Tyee Drive. Ough said Georgia Park development group, which also owns the original proposed location for the facility on Benson Road, owned the location now being looked at.

The new location is being considered to address county regulations and local concerns about tree retention on the Benson Road property. “We got into the process without realizing a lot of the rules,” Ough said. “The tree ordinance is something we can work around but there are citizens who have asked that we look at alternatives with less trees and closer to the economic core, so we are.” The Point Roberts special district in the county land use code requires that developers retain trees over eight inches across when measured four feet off the ground “to the maximum extent feasible.”

While there are no large trees at the APA site, there are wetlands, and EQTAH recently hired a wetland specialist to evaluate feasibility of developing the site. “I’m now waiting for his final report,” Ough said. If necessary, he said the company would be willing to acquire additional properties forwetland mitigation if the site was developed.

What the group is proposing is a seasonal turf track racing facility and a 20,000 square foot permanent clubhouse with offtrack betting year round. Ough has described the live racing as “a festival – short, sweet and fun. The tents would show up in July and in the fall they would be gone.” During the remainder of the year the turf area would be open for community use.

Ough dismissed reports that EQTAH is forging ahead with plans for similar facilities in other states. “We have talked to horse racing commissioners in other states but those are much more preliminary than Washington where we’re looking at an actual site,” he said. “Are we considering another site? Not even close until I’ve exhausted every other possibility.”

From a report in the Lansing State Journal, it looks like the group is inches from state approval for a facility in Lansing, Michigan. In the September 26 edition they reported that Michigan Gaming Commissioner Annette Bacola confirmed the company had applied for racing dates in 2003 and she called the project unique. Company representative Ken Schneider was reported to have described the facility as a “Disneyland for horses.” The group is hoping for approval by November 1 to open next year. EQTAH has yet to apply for a racing license in Washington state.

BACK TO TOP