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
BATAVIA BACK, WITH PEOPLE
Batavia Downs reopened last night after four
years, nine months and eleven days of darkness,
and harness fans of western New York showed their
happiness by turning out en masse. A crowd estimated
at 5,000 was on hand for the return of harness
racing to a community that was one of the
first in America to welcome the sport in its modern
guise 62 years ago, but has been without it since
the plant was shuttered almost five years ago. The
reopening was a revelation and a reward and vindication
for Marty Basinait, president of Western
Regional OTB and of the new track, which is owned
by that New York off-track betting corporation. “A
lot of people have said this day would never come,”
Basinait said last night. “I’m pleased. I’m excited.”
The track’s renovation is only 75% complete,
but Basinait said, “We’d like to have a
couple more months, but unfortunately we signed
up for these dates. It’s not the best, but it’s not
too bad.” Horsemen were high in praise of the rebuilt
racing strip, and Bruce Tubin, president of
the Western New York Harness Horsemen’s Association,
said, “We’re thrilled to be back at
Batavia Downs. When finished this will be one of
the nicest tracks in the industry.”
MERGER IN CHICAGO
In an historic merger between the only back-toback
racetracks in America, Hawthorne Race
Course and Sportsman’s Park have reached an
agreement to merge business operations and race
exclusively at Hawthorne. The agreement ends
70 years of horse racing at Sportsman’s, and the
track, which converted to auto racing three years
ago by adding 70,000 seats, will be put up for sale.
The sale is not part of the merger deal,
which provides for Sportsman’s leasing from
Hawthorne for its horse racing dates and
splitting profits equally after the lease
payments, according to Daily Racing
Form.
July 30, 2002
INDIANS WIN BIG ON COAST
A U.S. federal judge ruled yesterday that
California’s agreements with Indian tribes are legal,
a decision hailed by both the governor of California
and the leader of the state’s Indian tribes.
Gov. Gray Davis called the 97-page decision “a
victory for California voters who overwhelmingly
passed Proposition 1A” and said the decision protects
more than 200,000 jobs in the casino industry
in the state. Indian leaders were jubilant, and
gambling expert and law professor I. Nelson Rose
of Whittier Law School said, “This year will be the
year that California gambling will be bigger than
the Las Vegas Strip.” In his decision, federal judge
David F. Levi wrote, “Where the political branches
and the people of California have adopted a policy
that does not violate either federal law or the U.S.
Constitution, that policy is entitled to prevail.” Levi
rejected the contention of four Bay area card rooms
challenging California’s granting of casino games
on Indian reservations while barring them on nontribal
lands, and the immediate result will be transformation
of a card club in San Pablo, formerly
owned by Ladbroke gaming, into a full casino by
the Lytton Band of Pomo Indians. The fuller implications
deeply affect California and Nevada
gambling.
HUGE FINES IN INDIANA
The price of hookers has gone up. The Indiana
Gaming Commission has fined Pinnacle Entertainment
$2.25 million and former Pinnacle chairman
R. D. Hubbard $750,000 in the wake of a golf tournament
last year in which eight ladies of leisure
reportedly were imported from Las Vegas to entertain
VIP guests.
BIG NEW MAGNA INVESTOR
David A. Rocker, a New York investment executive,
has bought 2.3 million shares, or 5.03%, of
Magna Entertainment class A common
stock.