Uncertainty Surrounds The 2024 Arapahoe Meet As Track Scrambles To Deal With Building Issues

As horsemen prepare to ship out of winter/spring meets and head to their summer bases, it remains unclear when and whether they can expect racing this year at Arapahoe Park in Aurora, Colo.

During a regularly-scheduled racing commission meeting held April 10, the track received conditional approval for its planned mixed meet of 39 days, with racing Sunday through Tuesday beginning June 9 and concluding Sept. 2. Track officials had been hopeful they’d open the backstretch May 1, enabling horsemen to begin working horses by Kentucky Derby Day, with the idea the general public could watch training before Derby festivities.

But according to a report from the Division of Racing Events Director Donia Amick, the track’s application for a meet had numerous issues. The biggest problem, and the one that dominated most of the commission’s discussion about the meet application, was that Arapahoe County officials declared last year that the buildings on the backstretch were unsafe for occupancy based on what county officials said were numerous electrical and plumbing code violations.

“Occupancy” in this case doesn’t just mean that the county doesn’t think it’s safe for people to live in the buildings (although that is also at issue), but that people and animals cannot safely use the buildings at all.

Shannon Rushton, executive director of operations and racing for Bally’s Arapahoe Park, said that he understands from the county this means in part that grooms will no longer be permitted to live in tack rooms on the backstretch. He says that’s been a source of concern already for horsemen, who he says want the built-in nightwatch system that comes from having staff in the barns all night. Still, he has told them he will make RV hookup spots available but that stable staff will not be allowed in the barn.

“At every racetrack in the country they stay in the barns unless they have dorm rooms,” Rushton said. “And I don’t have $1 million to build a dorm. As you can see by the financials, we lose money. I’m not making money here. I’m trying to hold this thing together. And I’m having to spend a lot of money right now to fix past problems.”

Rushton, who is a third-generation horseman, said he took over for Bruce Seymore in January, knowing there had been a contentious relationship between Seymore and the commission. Rushton is hoping to change the dynamic, and has won over the horsemen’s organization, according to testimony at last week’s meeting. But he said he wasn’t told the extent of the issues identified by county inspectors at the end of last year’s meet; initially, he thought the county’s primary complaint was that the track was allowing grooms to stay in the barns.

James McClain, building division operations manager for Arapahoe County, was virtually present at the meeting to explain that wasn’t the case.

“We went out on Sept. 15, 2023, and found numerous life-threatening code violations,” said McClain.

One of those was that the electrical infrastructure in the barns was rated for residences, not agricultural buildings and, according to McClain “was never up to code.” Until the county declares the buildings safe to use, representatives from the state government say that state employees aren’t permitted to be in them – meaning a state veterinarian and test sample collectors couldn’t be on site to do their work.

The Division of Racing staff pointed out other issues, including some plumbing, electrical, and trash collection issues Rushton could show had already been fixed, as well as staffing vacancies that Rushton says he’s working with Bally’s to fill. One of the problems was that Rushton and another employee hold multiple job titles (Rushton is listed as general manager, director of racing operations and racing secretary), and the commission staff expressed concerns about potential conflicts of interest.

The biggest problem though, was the county’s concerns about building safety. McClain said that permits would be required to fix the types of issues his office had identified, and that the track hadn’t filed for the necessary plumbing and electrical permits. Rushton said he was told by the experts he hired (who had already done some repairs) that he didn’t need permits. McClain said that permits can take up to 16 weeks to be approved, and his office can’t re-inspect a facility until the permits are approved.

That put commissioners in a bind. They questioned whether they should approve the track’s meet application at all without the county inspectors’ approval of the buildings, or if granting conditional approval would really be productive, since the track may have to later delay opening anyway if the code issues don’t come together in a very short time.

Ultimately, the commission approved the track’s meet application, conditional to the county approving the buildings as safe for occupancy as well as documentation that the commission staff’s other concerns were addressed. The vote was four to one, with chairwoman Justine Scott Estes voting against out of concern the county safety approval wouldn’t happen soon enough.

Rushton promised to do his best to get everything up to speed in time.

“I’ll do whatever it takes to make it happen and I have the support of Bally’s corporate to do that,” he said.

The commission has a special meeting scheduled for Monday, April 22 to check in on the track’s status. Rushton declined comment on the projects’ status until after the next scheduled meeting.