Citing a legal challenge, the New Mexico Racing Commission last week postponed issuing a license for a new racino—the sixth and last license it is authorized to issue. This could will likely hand over the decision to the administration of incoming Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham.
The Attorney General’s office recommended the delay after one of the bidders for the license, Hidalgo Downs, filed a suit that challenged the integrity of a feasibility study on the racino—and asked that the judge order a new one.
That study had determined that the racetrack and casino Hidalgo Downs had proposed for Lordsburg would produce less than other proposals made for Clovis and Tucumcari. The study concluded that the Lordsburg proposal would actually drain off revenues from existing facilities.
The commission had been scheduled to make its decision this week. Three companies have bid to build in Clovis while there is one proposal each for Lordsburg and Tucumcari.
The owners of the five existing racecourses in the state oppose the issuance of a sixth license. They point to the decline of the horseracing industry, shown by fewer horses, and predict that existing casinos will lose money if a sixth is allowed. In a joint letter last month, they wrote that the state’s racing industry was “far from healthy and not in need of additional forces creating additional downward pressures.”
The existing racinos are in Hobbs, Ruidoso, Farmington, Albuquerque, and Sunland Park.
Since the incoming governor will be allowed to name her own commissioners, she could kill the process entirely, or allow it to go forward with her people in charge.
The delay in issuing the license gives the Attorney General time to file a court response to the challenge. A spokesman for the AG said that the office “will continue to work with the Racing Commission as they resolve the threat of pending litigation to ensure integrity in their awarding of the state’s sixth racing license.”
The state’s tribal state gaming compacts limits the number of racino licenses.
