Saving a Dead Industry - Horse Racing

When you read about Horse Racing in Indiana, you might believe that it's miles away, with little connection to Massachusetts.

Not so!

There is a significant link with Steve Norton, Northeast and Centaur, read here:

Steve Norton

After agreeing to the State's terms, the tracks began whining about being uncompetitive - in other words, the state should amend the terms of their bad business decisions.

Wait until that happens here.

Before the ink is dry, the Gambling Industry knows what they need to do to re-negotiate the terms.

When the phony job figures fail to appear, you'll hear about the need to expand.

When the phony revenue projections fail to appear, you'll hear pleas about the need to increase the numbers of slot machines.

And when the numbers of Gambling Addicts strap the state budget, you'll again hear cries for additional revenue.

In the case of Twin Rivers, they 're-negotiated' in bankruptcy court to dump racing and extend hours. You may remember that slots were supposed to 'save racing.'

The host community overwhelmingly opposed extended hours, surrendering local control in bankruptcy court.


Horse racing tracks fighting for their lives as local casinos pull away gamblers

The parent companies of Indiana's two race tracks, Hoosier Park and Indiana Downs, each filed for bankruptcy in the past two years. Both had to borrow heavily to pay the state's $250 million licensing fee and spent even more to upgrade their facilities. Then, earlier this year, Gov. Mitch Daniels said he wanted to make substantial cuts in the size of purses and the amount of money going to the breeding fund, which would have decreased the state's advantage over other tracks.

He later relented and made smaller cuts, but Maryland and Texas might not be so lucky. Penn National, the owner of race tracks in those states, has made it clear that it plans to decrease the number of racing dates and purse size. The company's CEO, Peter Carlino, indicated that he's essentially given up on the sport, saying in a February conference call, "there aren't a sufficient number of racing customers in the world anymore because they died."


Alex Waldrop, the CEO of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, thinks the reliance on others to save the industry could prove to be its downfall.