A bitter dispute is growing between the managers of Scarborough Downs and the horsemen and women who stable horses there over alleged problems with water contamination from horse manure.

Linwood Higgins of Scarborough, a consultant to the Maine Harness Horsemen’s Association, said many members are upset about a recent letter sent by Scarborough Downs’ Vice President of Finance Denise Terry. In it, Terry blames horsemen and women for water contamination caused by manure and says the track will not finance remediation efforts on its own.

“Accordingly, we will have to close the barn area unless the (association), the folks stabled in the barn area or others propose a method to finance a solution to the manure handling problem that satisfies the Downs and the regulatory authorities,” Terry wrote.

State and federal environmental officials said Friday that they aren’t aware of any mandates imposed on the track.

Horsemen and women who use the stable were given until Nov. 1 to vacate the premises, “unless they have proposed and helped to implement a solution … and the plan will have to work,” Terry wrote.

The cost to create a remediation plan would be at least $5,000, Terry wrote, and more money would be needed to carry it out.

In addition to claims about the horse manure and contamination, Terry wrote about other problems.

“The barn area suffers consistent mistreatment by folks stabled there, including damage to water hydrants, consumption of alcohol and driving in and out of the barn area during restricted times,” she said, adding that many stable users are not paying rent.

Higgins said he found the tone of the letter antagonistic.

“It’s offensive to the horsemen for the track to blame us for the fact they didn’t maintain their property,” he said. “If they didn’t enforce rules over the years, or if people haven’t been paying rent, who’s fault is that? And to bring that up now as if it’s a crisis, that’s disingenuous. There is more going on.”

Rumors about a possible sale of Scarborough Downs have been circulating for several months, but track officials have not confirmed them. Higgins said a potential sale could be one reason why Scarborough Downs would want to close the horse barn. The property – roughly 400 acres of developable land – is potentially valuable.

Maine’s harness racing industry has struggled for many years, even though it’s heavily subsidized by gambling revenue. From 2002 to 2011, the amount wagered at the track dropped by 40 percent, from $2.6 million to $1.6 million. Revenue has decreased by another 50 percent since the opening of the Oxford Casino in 2012.

Conflicting information provided by track officials and regulatory authorities this week may be complicating matters.

Mike Sweeney, spokesman for the harness racing facility, said Thursday that an analysis by the Environmental Protection Agency showed “there was some seepage of nutrients from the manure into the groundwater in the area. We obviously do not want to be in non-compliance of EPA regulations.”

In her letter, Terry wrote that the track “had a visit from the Environmental Protection Agency” about the manure.

But Dave Deegan, a regional spokesman for the EPA, said Friday that he was not aware of any EPA visit to the racetrack recently. Deegan said the EPA did not order Scarborough Downs to undertake remediation efforts.

David Madore, a spokesman for the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, said he knew of no state agency that had ordered Scarborough Downs to address the contamination immediately.

Madore said that includes the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, which oversees the track’s management of manure at the barn. A spokesman for the agriculture department did not respond to a message seeking comment.

Scarborough Town Manager Tom Hall was not aware of any complaints from neighbors and said that the environmental analysis “was nothing initiated by the town.”

Sweeney did not respond to an email for clarification Friday and no one answered the phone at the track.

It’s still unclear how widespread the contamination is or whether it has affected neighboring properties.

Sweeney told a reporter Thursday that the track had no choice but to close the barn.

“This was not a decision we took lightly,” he said. “But with the economic reality and the problems the track has had financially, we’re not able to correct the problem.”

Asked whether the horsemen would work on a plan to keep the barn open, Higgins was doubtful because of the stance taken by racetrack officials.

“They don’t want the horsemen there. That’s pretty obvious,” he said.

 

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