On behalf of the Town of Dumfries, please accept these comments regarding the final draft regulations for the Historical Horse Racing (HHR) terminals.

The Town of Dumfries is a town in Prince William County which is a part of the northern Virginia/DC Metro Area. While the population of the Town of Dumfries is only 5,230, it is approximately 1.54 square miles of the larger Prince William County with a population of 463,023 and the Washington DC Metro Area comprising over 6.2 million residents.

We are aware of the return of the equestrian industry to the Commonwealth of Virginia and are interested in participating in this trade. The presence of an Off-Track Betting Facility in the Town of Dumfries would bring aspects of historical horse racing to northern Virginia.

The current population-based machine tier regulations make the participation of smaller localities such as the Town of Dumfries problematic. The Town comprises a small area within a much larger population center. The rules, as currently written with a machine cap prove inadequate to allow the Town of Dumfries, its citizens, and the broader community to realize the full positive impact of such a facility by unnecessarily limiting the number of HHR terminals based exclusively on the Town’s population. The current cap of 150 terminals will unreasonably restrict a valuable opportunity for the Town to encourage broader economic development, expand employment opportunities, and generate desired revenue to provide services for residents in the Town, guests, and the broader community.

It is our hope that the Virginia Racing Commission will alter this regulation to allow the Town of Dumfries and other interested localities to have the opportunity to fully participate in this industry and take full advantage of the return of HHR and the economic and broader development and enrichment that it can bring. Please consider removing the restrictive limitation on the number of terminals based on the Town’s geographic boundary and rather consider the regional market to dictate the number of permitted terminals.

Creating jobs and additional revenue through economic development is a top priority for the Town. This opportunity is directly aligned with our priorities and can serve as a catalyst for future development.

Thank you in advance for your careful consideration.

Respectfully,
Keith C. Rogers Jr.
Town Manager