It has been reported that on Thursday, February 17, representatives with Mahoning Valley Development LLC met with members of the Ohio State Racing Commission regarding the possibility of the group bringing a racetrack to Mahoning Valley

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According to an article by tribtoday.com, MVD is looking to erect a one-mile racetrack, a golf course, hotel complex and an indoor water park on a location which has yet to be announced.

''My partner (Bradford Pressman) explained that an important aspect is that we are looking to market (racing) in a different way from before ... bringing the racetrack into the 21st century,'' Rick Lertzman was quoted as saying. ''I think they agree ... creating special racing days and shortening the racing season but creating bigger and more exciting events, bigger purses.''

''They reiterated to us that they were intent on building this racetrack regardless of whether these tracks get VLTs,'' Ohio State Racing Commission Executive Director Tom Fries was quoted as saying. ''This Mahoning Valley Development team came in, and they flat out said they fully intend to move forward whether there's slots or not.''

On Thursday, February 10, Penn National Gaming announced its intention to relocate Raceway Park and Beulah Park to other locations within Ohio if the state proceeds with plans to authorize video lottery terminals at racetracks.

(With files from tribtoday.com)

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