Commission ordered to act

An Albuquerque decide ordered the New Mexico Racing Fee to behave inside 90 days on whether or not to just accept or reject Coronado Companions’ request for a racing license so it might construct a observe and on line casino in Tucumcari.

District Court docket Decide Nancy Franchini in a ruling issued June 3 affirmed Logan lawyer and Coronado Companions principal Warren Frost’s request for a writ of mandamus in opposition to the fee. A writ of mandamus asks a courtroom to compel one other entity to carry out its official duties.

Franchini rejected arguments from fee director Ismael “Izzy” Trejo throughout a listening to final month that the fee couldn’t award the sixth remaining horse-racing license due to a wide range of points, together with the fragility of the thoroughbred and racing industries in New Mexico.

“Mr. Trejo’s opinion that ‘it simply isn’t the suitable time’ to contemplate an utility for the sixth racetrack license doesn’t have an effect on the NMHRC’s responsibility to challenge a choice on the Petitioner’s utility,” Franchini wrote in her eight-page ruling.

Frost mentioned he was happy with Franchini’s choice.

“The Fee can select to challenge us a license or deny it,” Frost wrote in electronic mail, “though we’re prepared for them to challenge us a license in order that we are able to construct the racetrack, we have now been by this too many instances. We’ll hope for a license however ought to assume they may deny it.

“The essential factor at this level is that in the event that they deny the license, we are able to then attraction that call to Decide Franchini. If she finds that the Fee’s causes for denying the license are invalid, she will organize them to challenge us a license.”

Frost mentioned the writ applies solely to the Coronado Companions utility, however he famous the fee might choose to guage different license purposes from Clovis and Lordsburg.

Frost filed his writ petition in December after Coronado Companions filed a revised utility with the fee.

Trejo, reached by electronic mail, mentioned he would decline to remark till he learn the decide’s ruling.

Coronado Companions proposes a so-called racino on Tucumcari’s east aspect that might make use of a minimum of 500 folks and generate as much as $55 million in income by 2025.

The fee had deliberate to award a license in late 2019, however that was derailed by an injunction by the Lordsburg applicant.

The fee had deliberate to debate and probably act on a license in April 2020, however newly elected Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham fired the commissioners and changed them earlier than the assembly occurred.

The problem of a sixth license by no means was positioned on the brand new fee’s agenda till January this yr, after Frost filed his petition.

Trejo testified through the listening to final month the sixth license was “put means down on the precedence record” as a consequence of extra urgent points. He mentioned since mid-2019, it had operated with a full fee for less than 5 months after two commissioners have been changed and one other died.

Trejo mentioned the fee additionally was coping with the COVID-19 pandemic, lawsuits, a U.S. Supreme Court docket ruling that legalized sports activities betting nationwide and federal Horse Racing Integrity & Security Act that takes impact subsequent month.

He mentioned the U.S. racing trade on the whole is coping with a decline within the variety of thoroughbreds, which has dropped by 50% since 2000.

Trejo mentioned he has not mentioned a sixth license with the fee and has suggested it to “maintain off on beginning the method over once more.” He mentioned it could “take a yr or two” to order one other feasibility research on a sixth license and was proof against award one.

“To challenge a license like that’s negligent to the trade,” Trejo testified. He later mentioned a sixth license would have “adverse ramifications” to New Mexico horse racing.