Having a harness racing facility in Millsboro could benefit the state as well as local farmers, allowing them to keep their land through the generated revenue, according to the facility’s backers.

Gene Lankford, of Chesapeake Tract LLC, listed that as just one of the potential benefits of the Del Pointe project, at the Jan. 5 Millsboro Town Council meeting.

The one-mile track would be located along U.S. 113, north of Millsboro. J.G. Townsend Jr. & Co., part owners of the 367-acre property, have applied for an annexation to make the property contiguous with the town.

“We want this to be a family venue and destination point,” said Lankford.

The track and a grandstand, which could be used for other purposes outside of the 45-day racing period, are Phase I of Del Pointe. Phase II is a shopping center. Lankford said they are hopeful to get cooperation from Great Wolf Lodge, a hotel and indoor water park, which has locations in Williamsburg, Va. and the Poconos in Pennsylvania, for a similar facility here.

The facility would be an “in and out” track, with horses coming and going and not housed in stables. Lankford said Video Lottery Terminals (VLT) would likely have to be utilized to generate enough funding for purses. In 20 days, at $100,000 a day, enough could be generated for purses to keep up with those awarded in Harrington and Dover, Lankford said.

The track could provide the state with up to $66 million per year in revenue and would provide 645 full-time jobs at the Millsboro location. The architecture would be more like Churchill Downs than Dover Downs, to keep the style of the area, Lankford said.

The track is zoned PCD (Planned Community District); however, the annexation must be properly zoned before the applicants can proceed.

In other business:
• Council voted to annex a 10-acre property to Peninsula Crossing on the southwest side of U.S. 113 and northeast of Handy Road and designated it Highway Commercial (HC) zoning. The land is located within the Town Center Area.
• Sheldon Forney of Jefferson, Urian, Doane and Sterner presented the town’s audit report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2008 and reported Millsboro to be in “strong financial shape.”
• Several public hearings will be held at the Feb. 2 meeting regarding comprehensive map and zoning amendments.