Les Bois Park issues layoff notice, warns of shutdown if instant racing repeal passes

Treasure Valley Racing, the company that operates the Les Bois Park racetrack, today issued a formal notice under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, or WARN Act, that it plans to shut down and lay off all its employees if SB 1011, the bill to ban “instant racing,” becomes law. The company says if it can’t have the slot machine-like terminals, which were just installed last May, it will shut down all its operations, including live horse racing, and lay off more than 100 employees. You can see the notice here .

The company says in its notice, “Les Bois Park will close soon after the date of enactment of the repeal of I.C. § 54-2512A. The closure will be permanent and affect the entire facility.” However, Les Bois Park actually is owned by Ada County; Treasure Valley Racing has a contract to operate it. “It is our facility,” said county spokeswoman Jessica Donald. “So it would be up to the county what happens with the facility.”