The Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission unanimously approved Thursday a racing license to Presque Isle Downs, which is slated for construction in Erie, Pa.This was the second time the commission approved Edson "Ted" Arneault's application to build Presque Isle Downs. After the track received approval from the commission last year, Magna Entertainment Corp., which owns The Meadows harness track in the state and is seeking to secure one of the remaining licenses in the state, filed a complaint. A Commonwealth Court in June sided with Magna and ordered the commission to hold another hearing.
However, Magna had already dropped its complaint in order to help garner legislative support for slot machines in the state. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports the only challenge to the Presque Isle Downs' license application at Thursday's meeting came from Charles Betters, who was turned down in his bid to build a $500 million facility in Pittsburgh named Pittsburgh Palisades Park.