SunRay wins its license, commission considers Hobbs application

Michelle Koidin

Thursday, March 23, 2000 | 10:51 a.m.

SUNLAND PARK, N.M. - The state Racing Commission has breathed new life into SunRay Park by renewing the racing license of the financially troubled Farmington horse track.

In a 3-2 vote Wednesday, commissioners approved a 41-day race meet to start in September, on the condition that the track provides monthly financial statements to the commission.

"This is a major relief to us," said Byron Campbell, general manager of the track, which opened in July. "We could have been shut down. A lot of people's jobs were on the line."

SunRay Park and its casino would have been closed down because state law requires racetracks to have a minimum of 17 days of live racing to simulcast horse races from other tracks.

Before Wednesday's meeting, the commission twice had postponed voting on a license for SunRay Park, which was $3.7 million in debt as of Jan. 31.

Investors and track officials have blamed the financial woes on Ray Walters, the former president of SunRay Gaming Inc., the corporation that runs the track and casino. He resigned last month.

During its first year of operation, SunRay Park overestimated revenues and underestimated expenses, track officials said.

Calls for cash from investors have raised about $2.4 million so far this year, said Bruce Leslie, the track's attorney.

Commissioners demanded assurances from the investors that they will step up should more money be needed to get through the racing season.

Investor Bill Windham told commissioners they can count on him and the others.

"We're not planning on losing this investment," he said.

Campbell added that a new track management team is continuing to look for new ways to reduce expenses.

"I don't think the commission should micromanage your racetrack," said Billy Blackburn, commission chairman. "Do we have to hold your hand for the next year, looking at your financials every month?"

The commission decided the financial monitoring was necessary, with Blackburn casting the deciding vote in favor of the conditional license.

In other business Wednesday, officials from Lea County applied for a license to open a racetrack. Noting that the county has suffered from the cycles of the oil industry, they told the commission that a racetrack could diversify their economy.

The track would be located in Hobbs, a town of about 30,000 that is four miles from the Texas state line. It would create up to 250 new jobs, said Janet Seagrave, executive director of the county's Economic Development Corporation.

The track would be a tourist attraction for residents of the West Texas towns of Lubbock, Midland and Odessa, all less than 100 miles away, she said.

"Our people want it and we need it," Hobbs city commissioner Joe Calderon told the panel. "We need the economic development."

Seagrave said they would like racing to begin this fall.

Blackburn said the commission would consider the application.