A bipartisan push to have county voters weigh in on a planned horse-betting parlor in Henrico has been rejected by Gov. Glenn Youngkin, giving the controversial project that’s already under construction a seemingly clearer path to proceed.
But Dan Schmitt, the Henrico Board of Supervisors chairman whose district includes the project site, said the fight against the parlor – and operator Churchill Downs Inc. – would continue.
Youngkin said Monday he is vetoing language that legislators put into the state budget to allow Henrico to hold a referendum on the project. The effort was led by Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg, who has worked with Schmitt in opposing the casino-like parlor that’s underway at Staples Mill Shopping Center.
