Delaware North Companies and Churchill Downs formed a joint venture to purchase Lebanon Raceway and build a racino with up to 2,500 VLTs. The joint venture, Miami Valley Gaming & Racing LLC, plans to purchase the harness racing licenses and assets of the Lebanon Trotting Club and the Miami Valley Trotting Club. They will also apply for a 10-year VLT license, which will cost $50 million.

A new site is not yet confirmed, but the two trotting clubs did announce last month their intentions to purchase approximately 120 acres near the Lebanon Correctional Institution. Construction on a new facility is expected to begin this year and be completed in 2013. Until then, the Lebanon Raceway will continue to operate at the Warren County Fairgrounds.

Despite this announcement, Penn National still plans to proceed with its relocation of Raceway Park, a harness racing track, from Toledo to north Dayton. Preliminary site and design work are under way.

But still looming out there is the pending lawsuit filed last October by Ohio Roundtable in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas challenging the constitutionality of VLTs. Oral arguments on Attorney General Mike DeWine’s motion to dismiss will be heard March 13.