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
TWO BOYCOTTS AT YEAR’S END
Woodbine and Balmoral and Maywood Parks end
2002 without entries for the first day of racing in
2003. Illinois harness horsemen, led by driver
Tony Morgan, have boycotted the Balmoral and
Maywood entry boxes in a dispute over Illinois’
‘recapture’ provisions, and Ontario horsemen,
wanting veto power over simulcasting, have boycotted
the Woodbine entry box. Trouble also looms
on the thoroughbred front at Philadelphia Park,
where negotiations continue between the track and
its horsemen. In Illinois, Maywood and Balmoral
will continue full card simulcasting without live racing
during the boycott. The ‘recapture’ dispute,
which now has brought racing to a halt for the third
time in five years, involves state racing law that
enables Illinois tracks to recapture 2% of live racing
losses incurred as a result of out-of-state simulcasting
by deducting it from their purse accounts.
That amount comes to some $15 million
this year. The Johnston family, which control
Balmoral and Maywood, say they plan to stand
firm, as does Morgan, threatening a repeat of the
situation four years ago when live racing was shut
down for 37 nights. In Ontario, Woodbine says it
will not relinquish control of its national and international
simulcasting. A second issue involves “respect”
for horsemen. Flamboro Downs, now owned
by Magna Entertainment, has signed off on the
new contract demands from horsemen, ending the
threat of a boycott there. John Walzak, chief operating
officer of the horsemen’s association, said
negotiations were “not acrimonious” and said language
and attitude adjustments could resolve the
issue.
Philadelphia Park was closed for three days, but
not by a boycott. Bad weather created track problems,
but live racing resumed yesterday. A
mandate to vacate the stable area by Jan.
6 remains in effect if no settlement is
reached contract negotiations.
December 30, 2002
SCOTT TAKES OVER AT VERNON
A New York state Supreme Court justice gave
Vernon Downs 30 more days to get its act together
before a Racing and Wagering Board refusal to
license takes effect, and Shawn Scott of Las Vegas,
who has loaned the track $15 million and says
he will loan it another $2.5 million, has taken over
effective control of the track. A Scott associate,
Hoolae Paoa, assumed the dual role of president,
CEO and chairman of the board over the weekend
when Andrew W. Goodell and Davis Jensen resigned
those posts. Paoa said he would deliver a
$250,000 check to Oneida county executive Ralph
J. Eannace Jr. today as partial payment of back
taxes, and would work out a plan for repayment of
the rest. Eannace said the Scott group is “showing
a commitment to trying to stay in Vernon, and
we’re perfectly willing to work with them as long
as that includes paying taxes and developing jobs.”
Paoa ran Delta Downs for Scott between the time
Scott bought the track for $10 million and sold it
to Boyd Gaming for $120 million.
DEADLINE FOR BIG M CHANGES
Today is the deadline for the three finalists in the
Meadowlands redevelopment program to submit
their detailed proposals. Mills corporation of Arlington,
VA; Hartz Mountain Industries of
Secaucus, NJ; and Westfield corporation of Los
Angeles were selected several months ago as the
semi-final round winners, and the company that is
chosen after today’s submissions will have the job
of transforming 104 acres of the Sports and Exposition
Authority site into something other than it is
today. Mills wants to turn the area into a family
entertainment center, with sports and other activities.
Hartz Mountain thinks it should be a convention
center, and Westfield is aiming toward an
entertainment and performance complex. A winner
will be announced early in 2003.