Although the Oregon Racing Commission January 20 approved a 2022 race season for Grants Pass Downs, representatives of the racetrack told the panel a racing season won’t happen unless it is allowed to deploy gaming machines at its proposed The Flying Lark gaming center.
The license for historic horse racing (HHR) machines have been held in limbo by the commission since October, after Oregon’s six gaming tribes protested that the games would constitute a violation of their monopoly on casino gaming. However, in the past racetracks have been allowed to operate HHR machines, although they do require a license. That is the only case where the tribes’ exclusivity has been excepted. Now the tribes want to end that exception.
The tribes claim that, despite the HHR machines, The Flying Lark is really a casino. According to Anthony Broadman, general counsel for the Cow Creek band of the Umpqua Tribe, interviewed by KGW8 News, “It will be unlike any other facility in the state of Oregon, owned by one person and the state constitution bars that.”
The racetrack and Flying Lark developer and Dutch Bros. coffee billionaire Travis Boersma claims that more than 200 jobs are at stake. He claims to have met with the tribes and politicians, “continuously” during the process.
Broadman added, “We think it’s time for a new look, a fresh look by the legislature at exactly what Oregonians want and what is appropriate for the state in terms of the regulation of state gaming.”
