AUGUSTA – The Maine Harness Racing Commission unanimously agreed Tuesday to grant the owner of Bangor Historic Track Inc. a conditional license for the 2004 season, which is slated to open May 21.

Obtaining a racing license is a critical step in Penn National Gaming’s plan to develop a racino, or racetrack casino, in Bass Park. The facility would combine harness racing with year-round entertainment, namely slot machines.

Tuesday’s action does not mean the Bangor track will become a racino anytime soon. It will take several more months for the Legislature to develop and adopt regulations for slots. State officials say that the earliest a slots parlor could be operational in Bangor would be late summer or fall.

Although the commission’s 4-0 decision to grant a license brings the racino at Bangor Raceway a step closer to fruition, the decision immediately began racking up legal challenges.

Two of the three groups that unsuccessfully sought intervenor status in the licensing matter began the process of appealing the commission’s 3-1 vote to Superior Court. One of the five-member commission was absent for health reasons.

Penn National still must undergo a state-mandated background check before the commission grants it a regular license. No time frame for that study, however, was established during the commission’s proceedings. In addition, commissioners ruled that the grandstand at Bangor Raceway, which recently underwent major renovations, be returned to a condition conducive to harness racing and pari-mutuel wagering by no later than April 15.

The decision to grant a conditional license – despite staff’s recommendation that the commission first conduct its suitability investigation on Penn National – was lauded by horsemen and others in the state’s distressed harness racing industry.

Before Tuesday’s proceedings at the Augusta Civic Center began, Maine Harness Horseman’s Association President Gerald MacKenzie Jr. expressed frustration over the length of time the licensing process had taken – and Gov. John Baldacci’s efforts to tighten the state’s control over slots and their operators.

“I’m tired of being jerked around by that dictator in the State House – Baldacci – and you can quote me on that,” MacKenzie said before the license and race dates were granted. “Everybody’s life is right in limbo.”

Despite their often conflicting interests, horsemen, breeders, agricultural fair organizers and others, including competitor Scarborough Downs, joined forces to support Penn’s application in the interest of ensuring the Bangor racino project remained viable.

Also following the proceedings closely were officials from the city of Bangor, poised to become the host of the state’s first racino. The city’s development deal with original racino developer Shawn Scott was set to expire Saturday if a license and race dates were not granted. The development and lease agreements are expected to be transferred from Scott and his Capital Seven LLC to Penn National.

City Council Chairman Dan Tremble said he did not believe any formal action was required on the city’s part, but noted that the legal issues surrounding the racino deal were still the subject of study.

“I think it’s good that we have some resolution to [the licensing issue],” Tremble said in a brief telephone interview Tuesday. “We’re now looking forward to working with Penn National, the governor and the Legislature to put together a project that will work for Bangor.”

Bangor Historic Track Inc., which Penn National acquired earlier this month, was purchased by Scott in December, while his licensing suitability hearings were still under way. When the commission resumed its proceedings early last month, Scott announced he was selling Bangor Historic Track to Penn, a publicly traded Pennsylvania gaming and racing company.

As many as 1,500 slot machines are headed for Bangor as the result of a citizen-initiated law Maine voters adopted Nov. 4. That law, which authorizes slots for Maine’s two commercial harness racing tracks at Bangor and Scarborough, takes effect Saturday.

While the Nov. 4 law gave the racing panel the authority to issue gaming licenses, competing emergency legislation proposed by the Baldacci administration, which could replace all or part of the Nov. 4 bill, would shift that power to a proposed Gambling Control Board.

The commission’s first order of business Tuesday was to address three petitions for intervenor status in the Bangor licensing matter.

The bids for legal standing came from: the Penobscot Nation and Passamaquoddy Tribe, which ultimately want a change to compete for the right to operate the Bangor racino; CasinosNo!, a statewide group opposed to the expansion of gambling in Maine; and the Christian Civic League of Maine, which opposes gambling on moral grounds.

While the commission’s vote not to grant legal standing to any of the groups proved popular with those in the harness racing industry, it was made against the advice of staff from the Attorney General’s Office, which on Monday issued a memorandum concluding that the two tribes qualified for legal standing under state law, the commission’s rules and the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act.

The memo concluded that the other two applicants for intervenor status did not show they were “substantially and directly affected” as required under state law, and, as such, allowing their participation was discretionary.

Minutes after the denial, a member of the tribes’ legal team appealed the decision in Penobscot County Superior Court in Bangor.

Portland attorney Richard Spencer, who represented the Penobscots and Passamaquoddys during Tuesday’s proceedings, attempted to stop what he called the commission’s “illegal meeting,” but the meeting went on despite his objections.

Attorney Kaighn Smith Jr. of Portland also filed motions to keep the commission from granting a conditional license until the court had ruled on the appeal. Those motions were withdrawn once the commission voted.

The appeal, which was not withdrawn, argues that the commission erred when it denied the tribes intervenor status. The tribes are asking the court to order the commission to allow the tribes to intervene and be heard in the licensing proceeding before the commission issues any permanent license to Bangor Historic Track. The tribes are seeking to run the racino.

Smith said late Tuesday afternoon that he expected to amend the pleadings and seek an expedited review of the appeal.

CasinosNo! spokesman Dennis Bailey said that group also intends to legally challenge the commission’s vote denying intervenor status. The group expected to file its appeal today.

The commission’s vote also denies intervenor status for the Christian Civic League of Maine. The league’s representative, Tim Russell, could not be reached for comment Tuesday on whether that organization also intended to file an appeal.

The would-be intervenors’ attempts to get involved in the licensing process angered some in the industry.

“These Johnny-come-latelies do not belong,” said intervenor Scarborough Downs attorney Ed MacColl, eliciting applause from the representatives of the harness racing community, who were warned to refrain from further emotional outbursts by Assistant Attorney General Ruth McNiff, who served as hearing officer.

While Penobscot Chief Barry Dana was being interviewed by the media outside the hearing room at the Augusta Civic Center, a local horseman complained loudly about the tribes, insisting that they already had a number of special privileges, such as freedom from the need to file income taxes and to hunt moose without a state license.Dana did not respond to the man’s complaints.