Henrico sues Virginia Racing Commission over decision to award license to Roseshire

Henrico County filed a petition against the Virginia Racing Commission on Nov. 12, claiming that the VRC’s decision to award a license to a new gaming parlor in Henrico was “unlawful” and “exceeded its authority.”

On Sept. 15, the VRC unanimously voted to approve an operational license for Roseshire Gaming Parlor, despite significant opposition from both Henrico County and dozens of community members. The parlor, which opened Sept. 29 at Staples Mill Shopping Center in Henrico’s Near West End, hosts 175 historical horse racing machines, which are similar to slot machines.

VRC based its decision upon a 1992 Henrico referendum in which voters were asked to consider approving pari-mutuel wagering in the county, which they did.

But the Virginia General Assembly later broadened the definition of pari-mutuel wagering in 2018 to include historical horse racing, so Henrico argued that the 1992 referendum is “outdated and irrelevant” to the case and should not have been used to justify Roseshire’s license.

“When the outdated referendum had been presented to local voters, HHR Slot Machines had not yet been invented,” the petition reads. “And even if they did exist, that form of gambling would have been illegal in the Commonwealth under then-existing laws.”

The petition, which Henrico filed in Richmond Circuit Court along with two residents who live nearby Roseshire, asks the court to overrule the VRC’s decision, declare Roseshire’s license null and void, and reimburse the county for costs such as attorney’s fees.

The county also accused Churchill Downs, Inc., the parent company of Roseshire, of acting with a “lack of transparency and broken promises.”

Under prior ownership, Colonial Downs officials told the county in 2019 that they would make sure to get county approval before relocating a facility to Henrico, the petition states. But once the track was sold to Churchill Downs several years ago, the tone changed, according to the county. Churchill Downs filed plans for the Roseshire facility last year five days before a new ordinance went into effect that would have required public input in order for it to earn approval.

Churchill Downs effectively was able to circumvent feedback from community members, said Henrico County Manager John Vithoulkas.

“The voices of our residents were intentionally and wrongly silenced,” Vithoulkas said. “We encouraged the operators to follow the appropriate local review process, which would have allowed them to respond in good faith to community concerns. Instead, they chose a cynical path that shows they’re not interested in being a good neighbor or a valued corporate citizen.”

Representatives from the VRC and from Churchill Downs did not respond to requests for comment by the time of this article’s publication but have said in the past that they followed all existing county and state laws and should not be singled out.

'Citizens of Henrico should have a say'

Many residents had concerns about how Roseshire would impact the neighborhood’s crime levels, traffic, and overall character. Staples Mill Shopping Center is within a mile of more than 2,700 apartments and single-family homes, making it unfit for a gaming parlor, said state senator Schuyler VanValkenburg (D-16th District).

“I just don’t think that we should have widespread gaming in the middle of a community,” he said. “We have an incredible housing shortage and that’s an area that is primed to be redeveloped, kind of like a Libbie Mill, for mixed use. And I think that now goes by the wayside because of the Rosie’s there.”

If Roseshire were to go through the approval process again, they would need to conduct a county referendum to gauge voters’ opinions on historical horse racing, VanValkenburg said.

“Personally, I don’t want to have a Rosie’s in the middle of our community, but at the end of the day, our citizens should have a vote. And if they want it, then they want it,” he said. “That’s been our bottom line the whole time – citizens of Henrico should have a say and obviously a corporation should not be allowed to big boy us and just do what they want.”

Despite community concerns, Roseshire went on to generate more than $5.6 million in wagers on its machines within the first few days after its opening, and paid out a little more than $5 million in winnings to patrons in that time.

But VanValkenburg said that Roseshire’s significant earnings during its first week do not mean that community members support the facility, since many patrons could be coming from outside of Henrico.

“I don’t think that tells us anything about its popularity,” he said. “I think it tells you that people from around the region are going there. I’m not sure that it tells us that it’s popular in Henrico, or that people think it’s good for Henrico.”

Liana Hardy is the Citizen’s government and education reporter. Support her work and articles like this one by making a contribution to the Citizen.