PLYMOUTH (WWJ) — Plans to relocate Northville Downs — Michigan’s last remaining horse racing track — have been pulled.
The Plymouth Township Board of Trustees on Tuesday voted unanimously to rescind a motion that would have authorized negotiations for a development of a new track near the township’s border with Northville, according to a report from Hometown Life.
Township Supervisor Kurt Heise said negotiations between the township and Northville Downs had reached an impasse, suggesting the track and its attorney were “engaging in bad faith negotiations,” according to the report.
While state law allows the developer to request a time extension from the planning commission, Heise said the application has been withdrawn and anticipates the extension request would be denied, according to the report.
Northville Downs has been home to harness racing for 80 years, but is scheduled to close its doors on Feb. 3. At the time it opened, horse racing was the only form of legal gambling in the country, but over the years, the track has largely lost its draw in Michigan and across the country.
WWJ's Brian Fisher explored the decline of horse racing and the impending closure of Northville Downs on a recent episode of the Daily J podcast.