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
BIG M SIGNS WITH XPRESSBET
The Meadowlands has signed a non-exclusive
agreement with Magna Entertainment to participate
on Magna’s XPressbet system, opening the
way for the Meadowlands signal to appear on
the newly formed Racetrack Television Network
(RTN) that Magna is launching March 1 as a
subscriber satellite service with Roberts Communications
Network and Greenwood Racing of
Philadelphia. Including the sport’s premier race
meet in the U.S. would give the new service a
strong hand in attracting harness racing customers
for its 8-channel offerings.
NO CARS AT SPORTSMAN’S
There will be no automobile racing at Chicago’s
Sportsman’s Park in 2002. Saying “business and
economic conditions in the motorsports industry
today” made a meeting financially unfeasible,
Chicago Motor Speedway chairman Charles
Bidwill and president Chip Ganassi announced
cancellation of the track’s 2002 schedule, which
included the CART FedEx Series, Target Grand
Prix and the Sears Craftsman 175 in the
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. The suspension
announcement said the Speedway “looks
forward to providing this region with continued
entertainment and sporting events in the future.”
Sportsman’s 70th year of thoroughbred racing
will not be affected, and the track will continue
hosting a variety of events, including concerts.
The track was totally rebuilt, at huge expense,
four years ago, and auto racing made its debut
there in 1999.
POMPANO STARTS RICH SERIES
Pompano Park drew this morning for the $50,000
first leg of the $250,000 Isle of Capri Casino
Pacing Series, and got two auspicious,
full and highly competitive fields
for the event, with each carrying a $25,000
purse.
February 6, 2002
The series features two $50,000 preliminaries and
a $150,000 final on Feb. 23. The $60,000 inaugural
of the Mack Lobell Invitational Trot will
be held that same night.
NJSEA RUNNERS’PURSES HOLD
Despite the loss of a huge state subsidy for purses,
Meadowlands senior executive vice president of
racing Bruce Garland has announced that daily
purses for the runners at Monmouth Park still
will be more than $300,000 a day. “We have committed
ourselves to quality racing, thoroughbred
and harness, in the state of New Jersey, and we
expect to offer purses in line with world class racing,”
Garland said. The Sports Authority will
race 120 programs this year, rather than 141, and
vice president of racing Bob Kulina said, “Maintaining
a major league purse schedule for 120
days of racing this year, with our available purse
money, is much more realistic than diluting the
product for 141 days and making it less competitive
with other major racing centers.”
IN THE EYES OF THE BEHOLDER
That’s what they say about beauty, and it apparently
holds for pari-mutuel handle too. The
Jockey Club statistics for 2001 were released today,
and depending where you read about them
you could get enthused or concerned. Blood-
Horse Interactive ran the story under a headline
reading, “2001 U.S. Purses and Handle Set
Record,” and reported that “Since last declining
in 1993, pari-mutuel handle on U.S. racing has
grown at a 6.4% annualized rate.” The Daily
Racing Form put it in slightly different perspective,
its headline reading “Handle’s growth rate
slows,” and reporting “Pari-mutuel wagering on
U.S. thoroughbred races increased 1.6% in 2001,
well short of the 6.4% annualized returns the industry
has grown accustomed to in the simulcast
era.” For the first time, average starts
per horse dropped below 7, thoroughbreds
averaging 6.97 starts a year.