CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Officials with Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack & Resort in Hancock County say they will abide by a Friday ruling from the West Virginia Racing Commission.
The commission denied a request for Mountaineer to eliminate 14 live racing days in December but the commission did leave the door open for the cancellation if purse funds run low.
Mountaineer plans to take a look at the purse fund in about a month to gauge how much longer it would last this year and races could be canceled. Racetrack video lottery revenues finance the purse fund and those have been going down for several months because of competition from other states.
Mountaineer, based in Chester, will see thoroughbred competition from a new track in Austintown, Ohio soon. Mountaineer also faces a possible decrease in revenues with a Hancock County smoking ban up for vote by the Hancock County Board of Health on Aug. 26.