State harness racing commission grants Miller’s official OTB status

BANGOR – Miller’s Restaurant Inc. is Maine’s newest off-track betting facility. Over strenuous protests and threats of legal action, the Maine State Harness Racing Commission made it official Wednesday, voting 5-0 to end the five-month selection process and granting Miller’s the only OTB license for the Bangor market area.

However, the matter still must overcome legal hurdles. As promised early in the OTB hearings, the commission’s final decision will be challenged in court with individual actions indicated by two of the losing applicants – Pardners Western Food and Fun and The Inside Track.

The other two losing applicants in the OTB bidding war, Legends and John Martin’s Great Steak House, said that although they do not agree with the commission’s decision, they will not challenge it in court.

In its 21-page fact-finding decision for the Bangor OTB site, the commission stated that multiple licenses in the Bangor market area adversely affect the public interest and the integrity of live racing and also violate the spirit of the authorizing statute.

Although all applicants met the state’s criteria for licensing, the commission awarded the license to Miller’s based in part on an understanding that Miller’s will enter into a contract with Bangor Raceway, as approved by Phil Tarr, commission chairman. The Bangor restaurant will provide one percent of the OTB handle as indicated in its application, and Miller’s has complied with all the representations of its application.

Following the commission’s decision, Jim Day, one of the partners of The Inside Track, said, “When we looked at it, I said I wasn’t going to appeal if I didn’t feel there was justification.”

Day said it was not a question of just kicking it back to the commission, “just to make them change it.” There were some fairness issues, Day said. “It has been a long, drawn out process through no fault of Miller’s or any of the original applicants, or the commission,” he added.

“The legislature says (the commission doesn’t) need any guidelines from the legislature. They are empowered to make rules and regulations, and they should have made them themselves. They should have done that earlier,” Day said.

George Kurr, lawyer for Pardners Food and Fun, said his clients plan to appeal the commission’s decision. “We tried to get the commission to reconsider multiple licensing, and we think we just weren’t treated fairly,” Kurr said. “We disagree with the commission and think the statute authorizes multiple licenses, requires it, in fact, if everybody meets the criteria.”

“They’ve made the threats. Now let’s see what happens,” said Tarr after the meeting.

The commission chairman also said he does not believe the five OTB applications under review from the mid-coastal area of Rockland, Belfast and Camden will have the same problems. “If we have learned anything from this process, it is that we really have more decision-making power than we thought,” Tarr said.

In other action, the commission tabled final action on Northwoods Hotel Property Inc., of Millinocket, for OTB at the Pomona Lodge in Millinocket until Gov. John McKernan has signed revised harness legislation.