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And they're off! Perhaps permanently.
Running Aces Harness Park, which had already laid off 10 percent of its staff, eliminated 20 more jobs Sunday and reduced nearly one-third of its full-time staff members to part-time status, the track's general manager confirmed Monday.
In addition to eliminating benefits for 100 former full-time employees, Running Aces is gambling that the Minnesota Racing Commission will allow it to open next year's racing season May 15 — much to the dismay of the president of Canterbury Park, which also wants to open that day.
"The tracks are 60 miles apart," said Bob Farinella, Running Aces general manager. "Canterbury has thoroughbreds and we have harness racing. We're different enough to actually complement each other.
"By running at the same time, we can promote Minnesota racing."
The Minnesota Racing Commission meets today and again Dec. 18, when a decision on racing dates is expected. Of a possible Minnesota daily double in which race dates between the two tracks would overlap, Canterbury President Randy Sampson said Monday, "In a market of this size, it's a less than ideal situation."
So far, not a winner
Running Aces, a $64 million harness track with a card-playing room in northern Anoka County, lost $4 million during its initial racing season, which opened April 11. Local partner Southwest Casino Corp. of Bloomington transferred its 50 percent interest in the track to a Connecticut finance company five weeks ago.
Southwest Casino is being retained as a consultant to new owner Black Diamond Commercial Finance LLC for four months and has the option of repurchasing its 50 percent ownership. But Thomas Fox, Southwest president , said he was not notified before the latest layoffs, many of which involved restaurant and card-room staff.
Discrimination in layoffs?
One dismissed restaurant worker accused Running Aces of age discrimination. The woman, who asked not to be identified because she plans to reapply for her job , told the Star Tribune that many of the dismissed workers were women in their 30s, while women in their 20s with less experience at the track in Columbus retained their jobs.
Another laid-off worker, cocktail server Stacy Grubisch, said she was "dumbfounded" and "humiliated" to learn that other workers knew about her imminent dismissal before she did.
"I needed this job," said Grubisch, 37, a mother of three. "On Thanksgiving Day, I showed up at 8 in the morning for work. I never missed work. When I lost my job I was dumbfounded. I want an explanation why I was laid off."
Farinella disputed the charge of age discrimination. He attributed the layoffs and stripping of benefits for some employees to an economy that is "slower than we expected."
Canterbury Park, in Shakopee, announced in October that it had laid off 60 people — about 10 percent of its staff, said Sampson, who does not foresee more cuts. Farinella was making no such predictions, saying only that business at Running Aces is expected to be slow through February.
Anticipation of a Running Aces racing season from May 15 through Aug. 9 could change all that, Farinella said. Running Aces hopes to race Fridays through Sundays and on Tuesdays.
Canterbury applied to have its season run from May 15 through Aug. 31, racing Thursdays through Sundays.
Paul Levy • 612-673-4419