Vernon Downs, which was ordered Monday to close at the end of the
month, has won a reprieve, a track spokesman said Friday night.

A state Supreme Court justice in Albany on Friday granted a temporary
restraining order that allows the harness racing track to operate
beyond Dec. 31 for about 30 days, Vernon Downs Marketing Director
Mark Scalzo said.

He also said two leaders of the racetrack's parent company, Mid-State
Raceway, resigned at a Friday evening meeting of the company's board
of directors. Andrew W. Goodell, the chief executive officer and
president, and board Chairman David Jensen had held their positions
for less than six months.

Both positions were filled by Hoolae Paoa, Scalzo said. Paoa is a
business partner of the track's chief investor, Las Vegas businessman
Shawn Scott, who has lent the track up to $15 million.

Scott has bought 4 percent of the track's stock, lent the track money
and, earlier this year, replaced half of the board of directors with
his own associates, including Jensen.

Monday, the state Racing and Wagering Board rejected the track's
application for a 2003 license and ordered it to shut down at the end
of the month. The board cited the track's history of financial
problems and said it failed to cooperate with regulators.

The track plans to get another hearing before the racing board and
appeal the decision to deny a 2003 license, Scalzo said.

The Mid-State board also decided Friday that, contingent on getting
the license, it would seek to borrow money to move ahead with a plan
to expand and to install as many as 1,200 video lottery terminals.

Among other problems, Vernon Downs owes $823,626 in back taxes to
Oneida County and, as of Oct. 31, had an accumulated deficit of $7.4
million, up from $3.5 million the year before, according to the
racing board.

The track, located in the Oneida County town of Vernon, operates
simulcasting during the off-season and employs 242 people during the
summer racing season.