Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
One week after a judge ordered the New Mexico Racing Commission to make a decision on Coronado Partners’ license application, the commission placed it on the agenda for this week’s meeting.
The commission’s regular meeting Thursday contains one of three items — listed as “Coronado Partners vs. NMRC” — amid a closed executive session about pending litigation. The same item also is listed in unfinished or new business after the session.
Warren Frost, a lawyer representing Coronado Partners and one of its principals, stated in an email he would attend the meeting.
Coronado Partners proposes a horse-racing track and casino on Tucumcari’s east side that would employ at least 500 people and generate up to $55 million in revenue by 2025.
Albuquerque District Court Judge Nancy Franchini on June 3 ordered the racing commission to act within 90 days on whether to accept or reject Coronado Partners’ request for a license so it could build the facility in Tucumcari.
Franchini affirmed Frost’s request for a writ of mandamus against the commission. A writ of mandamus asks a court to compel another entity to perform its official duties. Coronado Partners has sought such a license for years.
She rejected arguments from commission director Ismael “Izzy” Trejo during a hearing last month that the commission could not award the sixth and last remaining horse-racing license because of a variety of issues, including the fragility of the thoroughbred and racing industries in New Mexico.