2002 - Harness Tracks of America, Inc.

HARNESS TRACKS OF AMERICA
Executive Newsletter
A daily fax and e-mail report on racing and gaming developments in North America and beyond
Stanley F. Bergstein, Editor
INTERNET BILL ON CALENDAR
The American Horse Council says the Goodlatte
Internet prohibition bill (H.R. 3215) is on the Judiciary
committee calendar this week, and probably
will be considered on Thursday. That leaves
time to contact members of the committee, if not
already done, to let them know your views on
the importance of preserving the racing provisions
of the bill, and opposition to the Cannon
amendment that would eliminate them. For our
members, that means Congressmen Ric Keller
and Robert Wexler in Florida; Henry Hyde,
John Hostettler and Mike Pence, Illinois; Barney
Frank, William Delahunt and Marty Meehan,
Massachusetts; John Conyers Jr., Michigan;
Jerrold Nadler and Anthony David Weiner, New
York; Steve Chabot, Ohio; and George W. Gekas
and Melissa A. Hart in Pennsylvania.
ANOTHER FLAW FOR EMERALD
The Illinois General Assembly concluded its twoday
weekend budget session yesterday, and
tacked another nail in the legislative coffin of the
beleaguered Emerald Casino project in
Chicago’s suburban Rosemont. A bill had been
introduced in the Illinois Senate which would
have given control of the license to the state and
permitted the state to put the license up at auction
with a minimum bid of $500 million. That
bill, had it passed, would have enabled some
original investors to recoup their investments, but
it was defeated in the Senate 30 to 21. So the
battle of Rosemont goes on, with the state gaming
board holding firm on not licensing or giving
any recuperative breaks to the Flynn family,
major investors in the project, contending they
lied to state investigators. Charges of alleged ties
to organized crime also are a factor in the
board’s hard stand on the issue. As for
the Illinois budget, the Assembly tossed
the ball to Gov. George Ryan, passing new
taxes on cigarettes and riverboat casinos.
June 3, 2002
PHONE BETS ILLEGAL IN NEB.
The Nebraska Supreme Court declared phone
betting at its five state tracks illegal last Friday,
agreeing with the state’s attorney general, who
had challenged the 1992 law passed by the legislature.
The AG’s office had argued that when
Nebraska voters approved pari-mutuel betting
68 years ago the amendment to the state constitution
specified that “the wagering which may
be allowed...is limited to wagering that takes
place inside the confines of a racetrack.” Nebraska
tracks noted that courts elsewhere had
held that since telephone bets are recorded at a
track, that technically fufilled the constitutional
requirement, but the Supreme Court brushed
that aside and agreed with the attorney general.
The AG also had argued that a majority of Nebraska
citizens wanted to maintain the 1934 status
quo, pointing out that they had voted against
off-track betting in the state in 1995. The legislature
had approved telephone wagering and
OTB ten years ago, but OTB was declared unconstitutional
in 1994 and voters rejected the idea
a year later.
OHIO LEGISLATORS NIX VLTS
They didn’t exactly vote against them, they just
ignored them. That was the fate of track VLTs
in Ohio last week, but their principal backer,
Senator Louis Blessing, says that by next January
1 “we will introduce and pass a VLT bill.”
The Ohio legislature took the same route as Illinois,
imposing sharp increases on cigarette taxes
to raise money, but Blessing doesn’t think that
will solve Ohio’s budget crisis and he says there
is no way that an income tax will be passed.
TWO MILLIONAIRES RETIRED
Two millionaire pacing warhorses have been retired.
Principal owner David Scharf has announced
that Red Bow Tie, winner of $2.6
million, and Riverboat King, winner of
$1.2 million, have raced their last miles.