Continuing its retreat from the horse racing market in Virginia, Colonial Downs may soon seen one of its off-track betting parlors in Richmond knocked down. The OTB, which is located on booming West Broad Street, could be flattened to make way for a new grocery store.
The German grocery chain Lidl filed preliminary plans at the end of April with Henrico County for a 36,000 square foot building with storefront on the busy road. Lidl’s plans to build will deepen its stake in a war between various grocery chains around Richmond.
Colonial Downs closed its OTBs in early 2014 as disputes with horsemen over contract terms came to a head. The track surrendered its license in the midst of the argument, which raged on for months, and has not held live racing since. The West Broad location was once one of eight OTBs in the state owned by Colonial.
From the Paulick Report.
