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
A STUNNER IN KENTUCKY
In a rather remarkable racing development, the
attorney general of Kentucky has notified the
Kentucky Racing Commission that his office has
permanently withdrawn as legal counsel for the
commission, and it should find its own legal representation
as of March 30. Attorneys general
traditionally serve as counsel for racing commissions,
and the Kentucky move, and the abrupt
manner in which it was handled, was a total surprise.
The chairman of the commission, Frank
Shoop, said he wasn’t given a lot of detail, and
didn’t know the reason. The attorney general’s
spokeswoman said she was not allowed to say why
the office was severing ties with the commission,
but that the office, which represents many other
state agencies, had not cut off any others in recent
memory. Responding to a statement by
Shoop that “I assume it has something to do with
the slot bill that’s going through,” the AG’s
spokeswoman, Barbara Hadley Smith, said, “I
can very strongly tell you that is not the case.”
The commission’s executive director said the decision
to withdraw could not come at a worse
time, the commission’s budget having been cut
from $1.3 million to $300,000 by the legislature
and the commission now having to hire outside
counsel.
GAGLIANO GOES TO MAGNA
Jim Gagliano, executive vice president and general
manager of Philadelphia Park, resigned from
that post today and announced he is leaving
Greenwood, the parent of the track, effective Feb.
22 to take a position with Magna Entertainment
as head of their OTB operations, reporting to Jim
McAlpine. Gagliano, formerly associate general
manager of racing at The Meadowlands, left that
track for Philadelphia Park when Hal
Handel left the Jersey track to become
chief executive officer of the Greenwood
operation.
February 13, 2002
SARATOGA VLT VOTE TODAY
The Saratoga County Board of Supervisors meets
this afternoon at 4:45 in Saratoga Springs, NY,
to vote on the issue of VLTs for HTA’s member
Saratoga Equine Sports Center, and all advance
handicapping indicates a favorable vote. Robert
Hall, the chairman of the board, indicated he
expects the board to approve the measure, and
others involved with the issue -- including opponents
of the idea -- also believe it will pass. Hall
said the majority of speakers at two public hearings
on the issue were in favor of VLTs, but Joe
Dalton, president of the Saratoga Springs Chamber
of Commerce, is dying hard, and said he will
seek an injunction if the county board approves
the VLTs.
UPSON DOWNS AT CHURCHILL
Churchill Downs had no sooner released its record
net revenue of $427 million for 2001, up 17.6%
from 2000, and record earnings of $22 million,
up 15.2%, than it had to apologize to any Kentucky
legislators it may have “cast in an unfavorable
light.” President and CEO Tom Meeker
made the financial announcements and told Wall
Street analysts that Churchill saw alternative
gaming as a means to strengthen its racing business.
He said Churchill’s strategic objective was
to get laws passed that would allow slots, electronic
gambling or even full-fledged casinos at
the seven tracks in five states that it owns outright
or partially. He said that if it were successful
in that quest, “It’s more likely than not that
we would manage those facilities internally.” The
apologies came from spokesman John Asher, who
said that, in hindsight, Churchill should have
“held ourselves to a higher standard” in FedExing
$15,500 in campaign contributions the weekend
before the legislative session began. The state legislative
ethics committee ruled that no laws
had been violated, but the action “fell well
short of exercising good judgment.”