Riders approach the starting gate and Rillito Racetrack, 2018.
Pima County announced there will be no horse racing at the Rillito Racetrack next year.
However, horse racing fans need not worry; “the racetrack will live on.”
In a memorandum to the Pima County Board of Supervisors, County Administrator Jan Lesher said that it was highly unlikely that Rillito Racing, Inc. (RRI) would be conducting horse racing in 2025.
RRI has been the horse racing operator at the Rillito Racetrack since 2014, but their contract expired on June 30.
The memo revealed that the company has not provided the required financial audits to the county for the past three years.
Pima County issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to handle racing operations on July 1, with responses due by August 1.
Lesher explained in the memo that to ensure transparency and a competitive review and selection process, she requested Terri Spencer, the procurement director, to review communications between potential selectees and to provide a recommendation for a future operator.
During the procurement process, a member of the Pima County Fair Horse Racing Commission and the Foundation, a domestic nonprofit corporation, received an advance copy of the scope of work and participated in the RFP process, according to Lesher.
The RFP drafting process involved staff from the County Procurement Department and Parks and Recreation Director Victor Pereira, county staff, and one member of the Pima County Fair Horse Racing Commission.
“While the member stated that he was unaware that the Foundation was intending to bid and resigned from the RFP Review Committee when that fact was known, a potential respondent to the RFP has had access to information that was not equally provided to all potential applicants,” Lesher wrote.
Due to the unfair advantage and compromised procurement process, the solicitation has been canceled and will restart at a later date.
Following Spencer’s recommendation, the county will halt the process and conduct a thorough assessment of the historical property and evaluate its current condition, the rail system, and other elements of concern.
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