Vote to extend Arizona simulcast coming Friday

The Arizona Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association is scheduled to vote on Friday on whether to extend an agreement with Turf Paradise allowing the track to import full-card simulcast signals, according to Arizona HBPA officials and the track.

The current extension, signed in late September after a potential buyer suddenly emerged for the track, expires on Nov. 12. If an extension is not granted, full-card simulcasting, including account wagering, would shut down in the state, where dozens of restaurants and bars offer off-track betting to patrons.

The vote is likely to be contentious, according to Leroy Gessman, the executive director of the Arizona HBPA. The horsemen’s board voted to extend the previous agreement in the hopes that the latest buyer would quickly reach a purchase agreement with the track and demonstrate a commitment to the acquisition with a deposit of “earnest money,” Gessman said.

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To date, that has not yet happened, Gessman said.

“It will probably depend on whether the earnest money comes in on Friday,” Gessman said.

Under Arizona racing regulations, the live-racing permitholder and the horsemen split the revenues from simulcasting. The permitholder can’t import the signals without horsemen’s consent, under the federal Interstate Horseracing Act.

The new buyer, Richard Moore, formed a company called the Turf Paradise Land Trust with a local mining businessman, Frank Nickens. In an interview just after the buyers were identified, Nickens said that the goal of the purchase was to “revitalize” live racing at the track, and he said the company was ready to spend $50 million in the next year to refurbish the aging track and its backside.

Vince Francia, the general manager of Turf Paradise, said on Wednesday that the acquisition group has filed paperwork with the state racing commission for background checks and a license suitability review. He said that the acquisition remains on track, though it is not going forward as swiftly as some horsemen would prefer.

“We’re getting no signs that there is a problem,” Francia said. “It’s up to the horsemen. That’s their vote. From our point of view, we’d obviously like them to extend.”

Arizona racing has been in a state of flux for years, strained by a poor relationship between the track’s owner, Jerry Simms, and its horsemen. The relationship soured further during the pandemic.

In the spring, a California real-estate developer and former member of the California Horse Racing Board, James Watson, began due diligence into buying the track, but the deal was called off in mid-September.

Watson had long-term plans to develop the property, but he had also said that Turf Paradise could continue to operate if the legislature granted the track the ability to operate historical horse-racing machines, devices that are similar to slot machines. A lobbying effort in the summer failed.

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