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
AROUND THE CIRCUIT.....
The New Jersey Racing Commission has moved
to adopt regulations that would make possession
or use of EPO a prohibited practice. The announcement
of intentions states “No recognized analytical
method has been developed to detect and confirm
the administration of such substances, which
are believed to endanger the health and welfare
of the horse, the safety of the competitors and
adversely affect the integrity of racing.” California
has taken similar action to follow the lead of
the Association of Racing Commissioners International,
and Kentucky has announced it is considering
similar action. The chairman of the New
Jersey commission, John J. Tucker, said, “Until
tests are developed to identify such harmful substances,
all regulatory bodies should follow the lead
of the RCI by adoption of similar regulations banning
them from racing.”
In Indiana, state casino regulators dropped the
anvil on R. D. Hubbard, former chairman of
Belterra Resort and Casino (and once of Hollywood
Park). The state gaming commission fined
Hubbard $740,000 over allegations that the casino
flew in California prostitutes to entertain VIP
guests at a weekend golf outing last year. Hubbard
earlier was forced to sell his stock in Belterra and
give up his Indiana casino license, and he and Pinnacle
Entertainment CEO Paul Alanis resigned
shortly after a lawsuit was filed by two former female
employees who sued seeking punitive damages
for emotional distress and lost and future
wages. No penalty has been levied yet against
the casino, but one is promised.
In Maryland, an attorney for the Maryland Jockey
Club told the House Ways and Means committee,
“There is no agreement now,” in response
to reports that Magna was buying
Pimlico and Laurel.
June 27, 2002
In Illinois, Gov. George Ryan’s line veto of the
recapture provision that has compensated tracks
substantially since 1995 will have an immediate
effect on purses. Arlington Park has told its horsemen
it will downsize average daily purses for its
Festival of Racing from $260,000 a day to $240,000
a day as a direct result of the veto. Recapture has
been a stop loss provision guaranteeing tracks
1994 pre-full card simulcasting figures. A total of
$56 million has been disbursed since 1995, and Arlington
was to have received another $3.7 million
this year. Sportsman’s Park, which already has
dispersed its purse money based on recapture expectations,
was to have received $3.5 million, and
HTA’s Hawthorne member, currently conducting
harness racing, was in line for $2 million in recapture
funds, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
In New Jersey, the Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association
continues its political warfare. First it
aimed at changing the Internet Horseracing Act in
Congress. Now its target is the state racing commission,
and it found a New Jersey legislator who
introduced a bill that would restructure the commission,
with four of the nine members to be horsemen,
and with the prohibition on commission members
owning horses removed. Mike Farrell, writing
in the Bergen Record, said, “The prospect of
being legislated out of their current positions does
not thrill the sitting commissioners.” One indication
of the accuracy of that observation was the
commissioners action, issued without comment,
to approve only $133,000 of the horsemen’s association
budget request, saying it would like more
details on the remaining $427,000, which includes
political donations and lobbying expenses.
In New York, Newsday reports that the 16 NYRA
employees who pleaded guilty to tax fraud are still
working at the track.