La. Downs to refile for poker

Louisiana Downs in Bossier City, La., planned to submit a new video poker license application on Thursday, a day after a district judge ruled the track could not reactivate its 34 machines because spousal information on its renewal application was missing by the deadline for filing.

Failure to comply with state regulations, even though it was deemed inadvertent, led Baton Rouge district judge Jewel Welch Jr. to uphold a Louisiana State Police decision to unplug the track's video poker terminals on July 20.

The machines produce more than $50,000 a month for purses at Louisiana Downs.

Meanwhile, Louisiana Downs plans to introduce a pick four within the next two weeks after the Louisiana Racing Commission on Wednesday paved the way for the wager to be offered in the state at the request of Fair Grounds in New Orleans. In other actions taken by the LRC, Louisiana Downs was granted an 88-day Thoroughbred meet next year from June 29 to Nov. 17.

Evangeline Downs in Lafayette was awarded an 82-day Thoroughbred meet from April 13 to Sept. 2, 2002, with two Quarter Horse races a night to be run at the track for a portion of that meet. Delta Downs in Vinton was granted 56 days of mixed racing from Jan. 3 to April 7, 2002, and 44 days of Quarter Horse racing from April 18 to June 30, 2002. The track also received permission to add 26 nights of Thoroughbred racing to this year's calendar between Nov. 17 and Dec. 30.

Fair Grounds was awarded its Nov. 22-March 25 to schedule during a spring meeting.

In other action, the LRC upheld a ruling by Evangeline stewards who fined 12 jockeys $500 each for refusing to ride the balance of a card. The panel did, however, reduce the fine for each rider to $400. The jockeys refused to ride over a track they thought was unsafe, but the stewards deemed suitable for racing.