Presque Isle Downs DELIVERS ON PROMISES
Inaugural meet September 1 to 29 will revive Thoroughbred racing in western Pennsylvania.
Story and photos by Michele MacDonald

More than 250 years ago, the Marquis Duquesne stood in awe while surveying the forests and meadows of a peninsula jutting into the chilly waters of Lake Erie in the territory of New France, describing it for future generations as the “finest spot in nature.”

In that same general area, which French settlers called “Presqu’ile,” or “almost an island,” and where the Penn­syl­vania legislature established the town of Erie in 1795, another chapter of history will begin to unfold on September 1, when North America’s newest race track opens for business.

Called Presque Isle Downs as a salute to the French name for the locale that was home four centuries ago to a Native American tribe called the Eriez, the $291 million racino has been constructed by MTR Gaming Group Inc., which owns Mountaineer Race Track and Gaming Resort in Chester, W.Va.

Perched on a rise in a secluded spot that nonetheless is just off Interstate 90 and only about a 90-minute drive from the better-known regions of Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Buffalo, the complex is modest yet primed for growth. It is the first facility to offer Thoroughbred racing in western Pennsylvania since Erie Downs held its final meet in 1987.

Richard Knight, a former casino executive who serves as Presque Isle’s CEO, president and general manager, leaned back in a new, bare-walled office while construction was ongoing in the administration complex in early June and smiled when asked if the racing operation will be profitable.

“I’m somewhat reluctant to say very profitable, but why not?” Knight said. “We’re looking to make racing a very profitable venture here.”
Already revenue is running ahead of projections from the 2,000 slot machines that began operation in Presque Isle’s grandstand this past February. The slots grossed $56.5 million through June 17, according to records from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board; of that amount, $25.4 million went to the operator.
Knight said he sees no reason why racing income would not also exceed projections, although he would not reveal company forecasts for the inaugural meet consisting of 25 evening cards scheduled from September 1 to 29.

Purse levels were just as closely guarded until Presque Isle and Pennsylvania horsemen reached an accord based on discussions described (not surprisingly) as harmonious. Purse distribution will probably hover around $300,000 a day for the initial meet, said Rose Mary Williams, the corporate secretary of MTR Gaming who serves as director of racing at Mountaineer.

The track will conduct 100 days of racing from May through September in 2008, when the lake effect snowstorms famous in the Erie area will be a minimum threat.

“I believe we’re the future for racing and gaming,” Knight said, pointing to the synchronous operations of the Presque Isle slots and racing enterprises as a strong economic plus. The consolidated staff is mirrored in an open grandstand building where patrons can wander from one area to the other and among a variety of entertainment and restaurant options.

Three months before the race track’s grand opening, a number of horsemen had contacted Presque Isle director of racing Debbie Howells about stall space.
“I even got a call on my cell phone at 2:30 a.m. one day from a guy in California wanting to bring horses here,” Howells said with a hearty, contagious laugh. “He said, ‘I can’t believe how nice you are at 2:30 in the morning.’ I said, ‘You just imagine how nice I’m going to be at 10 in the morning.’

“We have been getting a lot of calls from people all over the country,” she added. “I’ve even had calls from some of the most prominent trainers in the nation saying they’d like stall applications.”
Joe Narcavish, Mountaineer racing secretary, was set to handle most of the traditional secretary duties at the new track during the inaugural meet, Howells said.

“Joe will take charge of recruiting horses. But if the phone calls are any indication, we probably won’t have to do much,” she said.
While there won’t be much stall space to be had, as only five of the track’s planned 10 barns of 100 stalls each will be ready for occupancy by opening day, the purses will immediately put Presque Isle on the national and regional racing maps. The daily distribution, if attained as outlined, would make the track the most lucrative for horsemen of any of the new racing plants that have opened in the last decade.

“The incentive to come and race at Presque Isle will be a substantial one,” said Todd Mostoller, executive director of the Pennsylvania Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Associ­ation (HBPA), which represents horsemen at Penn National, and now at Presque Isle as well. “Hopefully, it will be an upper echelon track.”

Room to expand.
First impressions of Presque Isle Downs can be perhaps a bit deceptive. The 135,000-square-foot structure seems somewhat limited in scope, particularly when viewed from the track apron or when touring the interior, of which 48,000 square feet is devoted to the casino floor.

“They say you don’t build a church for Easter Sunday,” Knight noted with a chuckle, adding, “It’s going to be crowded here on a day like Kentucky Derby day.”

But MTR Gaming executives are so optimistic of success that Knight said they already have mapped out a site north of the grandstand for a potential hotel and have been busy discussing the possible addition of table games, pending legislative approval.

Presque Isle was built so that another story can be added to the casino area, said Shelane Buehler, an Erie architect who designed the facility and has been working on the project for six years.

After devoting 14 to 16 hours a day, seven days a week, for so long that her last vacation was but a dim memory, Buehler can take pride in an exterior that is simple, yet distinctive. A brick veneer with cast panels bearing signage featuring what Buehler described as a “Speakeasy, Roaring ’20s” theme greets patrons when they arrive over an old-fashioned bridge spanning tranquil Walnut Creek.
That theme, the stamp of MTR Gaming chief executive officer Edson (Ted) Arneault, who has injected the same style into Mountaineer, carries over into the restaurants and bars, and even the carpeting in the slots area, which is emblazoned with repeating images of early-era jalopies. Arneault himself is something of a fixture at Presque Isle: a bar in the casino is called Edson’s, and a larger than life-sized bust of the executive wearing a hat bedecked with neon lights overlooks patrons in that area.

“It was our idea in marketing,” said Jennifer See, who left Mountaineer after a decade in order to become director of mar­ket­ing at Presque Isle. “Ed­son is sort of an old-fashioned name, and we presented the idea to him and he bought it.

“He’s our icon,” she added of Arneault, who has been showcased at Mountaineer with bobblehead dolls bearing his image. “He is the brand of Presque Isle Downs and Mountaineer.”

Banks of red, orange, yellow and blue flowers sprawl in front of the main entrance, which opens to a foyer housing automatic teller machines and sign-up material for players’ clubs. Entering the casino, customers are welcomed by an official greeter wearing a purple flapper-style dress and matching boa. Strains of bouncy songs like “Moondance” filter from the public address system out of the building as far as the area that will be the paddock for racing.

Some local flavor is emphasized in the casino, such as a model of the famous Presque Isle Lighthouse that sits atop a bank of slot machines. A wax figure of legendary Erie native Joe Root, who scratched a living off the bountiful peninsula land and slept in self-built shacks in the early 1900s, overlooks a two-cent slot zone from a ledge, a neon sign proclaiming “From Root to Riches.”
Restaurants range from the racing-themed Triple Crown Buffet to the secluded and dimly lit La Bonne Vie, where steak and lobster are menu highlights. Buehler said the open grandstand design, which allows patrons to flow from racing to gaming areas in an open stream, separates Presque Isle from Mountaineer and other racinos.

Several corners of the facility can be quickly converted into small nightclubs showcasing bands and other entertainers.

On the second floor, racing fans will find a tiered clubhouse dining area overlooking the track. Adjacent to it is an expansive paneled bar that was made by Mountaineer carpenters, and a handicapping section with carrels and mutuel tellers. The uppermost floor will be occupied by racing officials, media and the audio-visual department, which has a specially designed room for simulcasting broadcasts.

Outdoors, more seats, eateries and rest room facilities are to be constructed for racing fans, who will find a special entrance allowing underage visitors to be shielded from the casino.
As of June, Presque Isle had approximately 800 employees; its workforce was expected to swell by more than 100, including mutuel tellers, during the race meet.

Hopes run high
Officials at Presque Isle, as well as those with local organizations and horsemen’s groups, speak with a quiver of anticipation about the opening of the track.
“I’m excited. Anywhere I go, everyone starts asking me when are we going to start racing,” Buehler said. “I think everyone is going to be very pleasantly surprised. I’ve heard nothing but good things so far. There have been a wide variety of people who have gone through the building and I’ve heard very few, if any, negative comments. And I think once racing starts, there will be another whole level of excitement people can experience. It’s such a dynamic place already—you walk in and you feel such energy.”

Additional racing days and hefty purses are obvious welcome additions to Penn­syl­vania’s Thoroughbred landscape, but Presque Isle also will offer horsemen another significant innovation—the Mid-Atlan­tic region’s first synthetic racing surface.

Presque Isle chose the Tapeta surface (developed and marketed by Maryland-based trainer Michael Dickinson), which also has been installed at the Fair Hill Training Center and has been chosen for Golden Gate Fields in California.
“I think the synthetic surface is an extremely strong draw,” said Mostoller. “It could prove to be an edge in competing for the horse population.”
The Pennsylvania HBPA has pledged to contribute toward the cost of the surface, with its share likely to exceed $1 million. But the returns could be far greater, as the surface will help fuel a growing momentum within the state’s racing industry.

“There’s no reason for Penn­­­sylvania not to become the pinnacle of racing in North America,” Mostoller said. “Penn­­sylvania racing can really move to the national forefront, and if we don’t get there, shame on us.”

Presque Isle—with its 5:30 post time—could also prove to be a healthy simulcast product in a time slot that will allow it to stand out from competition.
Presque Isle slots are expected to generate approximately $3.5 million for the thriving Pennsylvania-bred program, said Mark McDermott, executive secretary of the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association.

“The real growth is in the overall state program, but they are an integral part of it,” he said.

Projections provided by McDermott show that the number of registered Pennsylvania-bred foals is expected to increase from 1,150 in 2006 to 1,600 by ’08. In that same time span, breeding fund revenue will grow from $7.8 million to $19 million.

Erie-area businesses—anticipating a surge in the local economy—are singing praises for Presque Isle, with one hotel’s automated answering service proclaiming cheerily that it provides shuttle service to the facility. John Oliver, president of the Erie Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, said members of that organization are “very excited” about the racino’s impact.
“With horse racing coming in September, it’s really going to offer a great expansion of our entertainment options,” said Oliver, who reported that hotels have indicated a 20 to 30 percent increase in occupancy on weekends since the slot machines became operational, with many visitors coming to Erie from Buffalo, Cleveland and Pittsburgh.

“It’s going to be a beautiful track—from what I’ve seen it’s going to be just gorgeous,” he added. “It’s going to be a great draw.”
With Presque Isle State Park featuring seven miles of sandy beaches on Lake Erie and pleasant summer weather, another tourism magnet will further boost the area, which has been transitioning from a fading manufacturing economy and now boasts annual tourism revenue of about $700 million that sustains up to 12,000 jobs.

“We have been on an upswing, and this is only going to help,” Oliver said while commending Presque Isle Downs officials for actively working with local officials to market the new facility at travel shows and with motor coach operators.
Advertising for the race track will hit high gear in August, with television, radio, billboard and print ads splashed in corners of Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York, See said.

“Ted [Arneault’s] slogan for everything is, ‘We’ll leave the slots on for you,’ and we’ll really play up the inaugural [race] meet,” said See of the promotional blitz. “We expect the response to be huge. The amount of calls we’ve been receiving already has just been amazing.”