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
COUNTING CHICKENS IN NY
They haven’t quite hatched yet, but the hoped for
VLT chickens (and their eggs) in New York state
are being counted by Gov. George Pataki. The gov
has budgeted $61 million in fiscal 2002 (April 1
thru March 31) as revenue from VLTs which his
Lottery Division says aren’t likely to be operational
until November. If the projection is correct,
it means the state expects some $200 million a
year minimum from the VLTs, and probably considerably
more, since all tracks may not be online
by the end of this year. The New York Racing
Association, meanwhile, is moving ahead with its
plans for a 100,000-square foot VLT area at Aqueduct,
but also is continuing its negotiations with
the Lottery Division for changes in the distribution
system of VLT revenue and other aspects
throwing a heavy burden of operational and maintenance
costs on the tracks.
In New Jersey, the Meadowlands is casting a wary
eye across the Hudson river, and the New Jersey
Sports and Exposition Authority’s CEO, James
DiEleuterio, plans to hire experts from both business
and academia to do a three- to six-month
study on the effects on the Meadowlands of VLTs
in New York state, casinos in the Catskills, and
slots in Delaware. DiEleuterio says he wants to
know the impact on what he defines as a finite
market for gambling dollars in the region.
Another troubling aspect of New Jersey racing will
be considered again by the state racing commission
on Wednesday. This issue is the number of
racing days at the Sports Authority’s Monmouth
Park. The thoroughbred horsemen want 141 days
of racing between Monmouth and the Meadowlands.
Bruce Garland, the NJSEA’s senior VP racing,
wants 120, as in 2001.
Garland thinks 120 days, with 70 at
Monmouth, is all the state can handle if it is
January 28, 2002
to maintain high purses and the quality racing they
assure. He has an ally in one of the most powerful
voices in the New Jersey legislature on racing
matters, state senator Richard Codey, who compares
Monmouth to Saratoga, “fine for a limited
time.” The commission has expressed contrary
views, and will take up the controversial matter
again this week.
DAVE WALL BADLY INJURED
Dave Wall, one of Canada’s best known drivers,
was severely injured Saturday at Western Fair
Raceway in Ontario after filling in for a driver who
didn’t show up. Wall was catapulted from his sulky
when a horse fell in front of him, and suffered a
broken wrist, cheekbone, ribs and left shoulder.
He also had a concussion and facial injuries from
broken driving glasses. One report said he hit the
track’s hub rail. Western Fair is one of the last
raceways in Ontario to still have one, most others
having flexible pylons. Wall, 55, has won 5,890
races and more than $47 million in purses in a 30-
year-driving career.
VARENNE IS WORLD’S BEST
There was little doubt about it before yesterday,
and none today. Varenne is the world’s best trotter.
He won France’s greatest trotting race, the
Prix d’Amerique, for the second straight year yesterday
at Vincennes near Paris, and elevated his
near legendary status in Italy, where he is a national
hero. Italy’s leading sports daily, La
Gazzetta dello Sport, carried a front page headline,
photo and editorial that said,
“He’s a hero that’s born only once.” Seven thousand
Italian fans were on hand at Vincennes for
the race, and one of them -- movie actress Valeria
Marini, says driver Giampaolo Minnuci could be
a movie star next. Italian radio and television interrupted
soccer for the live call of the
$700,000 race.