Over Henrico's objections, Colonial Downs receives approval to open gaming facility

The Virginia Racing Commission voted 5-0 on Monday afternoon to approve a proposed gaming facility in western Henrico County operated by Colonial Downs, despite opposition from all levels of Henrico's government.

The facility, scheduled to open on Sept. 29, is called “Roseshire,” and is being positioned as an upscale version of the Rosie’s facilities that exist on Midlothian Turnpike in Richmond and at Colonial Downs in New Kent County.

It will have 175 historical horse racing machines, which look and operate like slot machines, but are tied into the state’s parimutual wagering system and are powered by the results of past horse races, making them legal as off-track wagering under a 2018 vote by the General Assembly.

Colonial Downs is opening the Henrico facility by citing a 1992 referendum where Henrico voters allowed off-track betting. However, Henrico officials noted that the machines are different from actually wagering on horse races, and are asking for a new referendum before Roseshire is allowed to open.

During a public comment period, speakers included Henrico Supervisor Dan Schmitt, who said the track has “avoided every opportunity to engage with the community” during the process, and state Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg, D-Henrico, who said voting to allow the machines in 2018 “might be the vote I most regret in my time in the General Assembly.”

“At every turn, Churchill (Downs) has taken steps to avoid engaging with Henrico residents,” he said. “Which has, you know, fueled a lot of cynicism, eroded a lot of trust, and caused what we have here today.”

Churchill Downs is the parent company of Colonial Downs. A spokesperson for the group said none of its representatives at the meeting on Monday would be available for comment.

A lawyer from Williams Mullen, which is representing Henrico, told the commission moving forward with the facility would be illegal. After about 30 minutes of closed-session deliberation, the commission said it was advised by its own counsel that it can move forward, and voted 5-0 to allow the facility, without discussing the matter further.

Henrico officials vowed to pursue all options to stop the facility’s opening.

“It ain’t over until it’s over,” said County Manager John Vithoulkas. “We’ll sit down, regroup and see what (the next moves) are going to be.

“If you had a class of kids, and you presented them with this issue and said, ‘OK, what would the outcome be in a democracy?’ This isn’t what the outcome would be. 

“You know, in 1992 those machines never existed. This is just money buying votes.”

The Racing Commission has occasionally drawn scrutiny for its seemingly conflicting missions to promote the horse racing industry and bring more money into it, while also regulating the gambling machines that generate that money. In a 2022 study, state analysts concluded the Racing Commission did not have “adequate staffing, expertise or regulations” to effectively oversee machines like the ones planned for Henrico.

The Colonial Downs spokesperson noted that other Rosie’s locations around the state are also based on referendums that were passed in a similar timeframe, and said Roseshire has already received approval of its safety plan from Henrico Police.

The 175 machines coming to Henrico are a fraction of the 1,200 at the Richmond location, which generated about $7.4 million in local tax revenue last year.

This year the General Assembly altered the law that previously distributed that money 50-50 between New Kent County, where the track is located, and the location of the Rosie’s itself, and Richmond is now positioned to receive the full amount next year.

The General Assembly also voted to require the track to hold a referendum in Henrico, but that provision was removed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin.

“I think that speaks to legislative intent when we’re talking about that 2018 bill,” VanValkenburg said. “It speaks to the fact that, if we do end up in a court of law, they’re going to be on the wrong side of it.”

Schmitt noted Henrico’s standing as a top place to do business as he criticized the track for not working with the county.

“When Colonial Downs was sold to Churchill Downs, that’s when the conversation ended,” he said. “Their exact words were, ‘We’re going to do what we want.’ And one thing I will say, they’ve been true to their word.”

Churchill Downs officials described Roseshire as an upscale venue, and said it will include a new sit-down restaurant called Crimson Kitchen and a music lounge.

They said the Henrico facility would not take any business from the Richmond city facility, citing the company’s research that the majority of Richmond city customers come from within 5 miles of the facility.

Contact Michael Phillips at mphillips@richmonder.org. Graham Moomaw contributed to this report.