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By DON DEL ROSSO
Richmond Bureau Chief For nearly 10 months, Virginians For Racing played a “wait-and-seewhat-happens-to-lottery” game before making its big push to get pari, mutuel betting approved. * That wait ended happily for the \ fledgling organization on Nov. 3 ” when voters gave lottery forces a commanding victory.
Now, many Virginia horsemen believe, it’s their turn.
With the lottery decision, VFR, ■ a Piedmont-based group that will ad^ vance the cause of pari-mutuel bett ting during the 1988 General ' Assembly session, began to mobilize its forces.
The group’s board has met several times and has retained a prominent Richmond lobbyist to advance their cause.
Ernest M. Oare, a VFR board member and president of the Virginia Thoroughbred Association, said the group viewed the lottery vote as an “indication of the moral voice of Virginia. That’s an issue we had to deal with” before proceeding.
While the lottery issue unfolded, VFR was busy “laying the groundwork and doing some research [on pari-mutuel betting,” Mr. Oare explained. “Then, frankly, we sat back and watched what would happen.”
Part of that research included two studies conducted by Killingsworth Associates of Cambridge, Mass., that focused on the feasibilty of setting up pari-mutuel betting and the “residual” benefits it would produce. Killingsworth specializes in such studies, according to Mr. Oare.
Mr. Oare and fellow VFR board member Fred Kohler said the study indicates that such benefits would amount to about $200 million annually to Virginia’s economy.
Explaining the group’s approach
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