A bipartisan push to have county voters weigh in on a planned horse-betting parlor in Henrico has been rejected by Gov. Glenn Youngkin, giving the controversial project that’s already under construction a seemingly clearer path to proceed.
But Dan Schmitt, the Henrico Board of Supervisors chairman whose district includes the project site, said the fight against the parlor – and operator Churchill Downs Inc. – would continue.
Image: A rendering of the Roseshire Gaming Parlor planned at Staples Mill Shopping Center. (Picture courtesy RoseshireGaming.com)
Youngkin said Monday he is vetoing language that legislators put into the state budget to allow Henrico to hold a referendum on the project. The effort was led by Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg, who has worked with Schmitt in opposing the casino-like parlor that’s underway at Staples Mill Shopping Center.
Noting the General Assembly could override the veto when it reconvenes in April, Schmitt said: “We will continue to seek some help in the General Assembly special session. It takes two-thirds to override a veto.
“I’ll continue to oppose their licensing at Virginia Racing Commission meetings; I’ll continue to oppose their ABC license along with hundreds of residents who have also opposed their ABC license,” Schmitt said. “There’s plenty of pathways left, and that is also to govern them and to hold them as accountable, if they do open, as anybody else in meeting the county ordinances and standards. The fight never ends in that regard.”
When Churchill Downs submitted plans for the project last summer, Schmitt publicly denounced the company’s timing in light of a zoning rules update that Henrico had initiated months earlier. The board’s opposition was backed by VanValkenburg, who called on Churchill Downs to withdraw the plan in a letter co-signed by the seven other state legislators who represent Henrico.
On his Facebook page Monday, VanValkenburg said Youngkin “sided with an out-of-state gambling corporation over his own citizens by taking out the Henrico referendum for the Rosie’s gambling establishment. This is why people hate politics and politicians. What’s so wrong about our people having a say?”
Called Roseshire Gaming Parlor, the casino-like parlor would include “historical horse racing” game machines like those at Rosie’s Gaming Emporium parlors, which Churchill Downs also owns.
While Henrico voters narrowly approved on- and off-site betting in the county in a petitioned-for referendum in 1992, Schmitt maintains that voters had no say on historical horse racing machines, which he likens to slot machines, when the General Assembly allowed them in 2018.
The Virginia Racing Commission that year awarded Colonial Downs Group licensing for 600 historical horse racing game machines at the reopened New Kent racetrack and 700 at the Richmond Rosie’s on Midlothian Turnpike. The Rosie’s in South Richmond, which opened in 2019, is one of seven opened so far across Virginia.
Churchill Downs, which acquired Colonial Downs Group in 2022, last month named Jeremy Callahan, formerly the general manager of the Rosie’s in Emporia, as GM for Roseshire.
A website for Roseshire encourages visitors to show their support by sending a pre-written email to Henrico officials. The message, which can be modified, touts the project as creating new jobs and tax revenue for county services and schools.
Following Youngkin’s announcement Monday, Henrico County issued a statement responding to the veto:
“In bipartisan fashion, the General Assembly outlined a transparent, public process that would give voters a voice in whether their communities should welcome these facilities. But instead of empowering voters, the governor’s decision rewards Rosie’s and similar companies that are uninterested in healthy, public engagement that is at the heart of a democracy.”
Schmitt, a Republican, called Youngkin’s veto confusing in light of recent debate over so-called skill games.
“This administration last year supported a public referendum for skill games, so what is the problem with a public referendum for historical horse racing slot machines?” Schmitt said. “It’s disappointing that this simple, easy ask was not met. This is just the people’s voice being asked for.”
Source: Richmond Bizsense
Preview Image: courtesy RoseshireGaming.com
