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
AZ. SLOTS IMPACT QUESTIONED
Arizona’s racetracks would have to operate 13,000
to 25,000 slot machines to raise the millions of
dollars they say they can supply to the state’s budget,
according to an analysis done for the state’s
Dept. of Gaming. Senate President Randall Gnant
has proposed legislation that would allow the tracks
to operate up to 6,000 slots. Gnant estimated that
the state would reap $200 million a year if the
tracks operate slot machines and pay 30 percent
of their proceeds to the state. But the racetrack
slots permitted under Gnant’s bill, which is scheduled
for a hearing today in the legislature, would
raise only $123 million, according to an analysis
done by the Howard Consulting Group of Reno.
To raise $200 million, the racetracks would need
13,000 slot machines, said Bill Eadington, an economics
professor at the University of Nevada Reno
and a principal of the Howard Consulting Group.
He said it takes more machines to raise a disproportionately
smaller amount of money because the
market becomes saturated as more machines are
added. Eadington’s argument also took into account
the likelihood that Arizona’s Indian tribes
would reject the gaming compact contained in
Gnant’s bill. Gnant is counting on the tribes to pay
up 12 percent of the revenue from their slot machines
to the state, for a total of $100 million a
year. David LaSarte, executive director of the Arizona
Indian Gaming Association, told the Associated
Press that Gnant’s proposal is unacceptable
to the tribes because it would ask voters to impose
limits on tribal gaming without negotiations.
If the tribes aren’t part of the plan, Eadington estimates
the racetracks would need 25,000 slot machines
to raise $300 million. Eadington was asked
for an analysis of Gnant’s bill after he was hired
by the Dept. of Gaming to analyze the compact
Gov. Jane Hull reached with Arizona’s Indian
gaming tribes.
April 15, 2002
HOOSIER OPENS WITH A CROWD
The second largest opening night crowd for harness
racing turned out to help kick off the ninth
season of harness racing at HTA member Hoosier
Park last Saturday. With a total of 6,398 in attendance,
the opening night crowd for the 2002 season
ranks eighth on the all-time attendance list at
the track for either standardbred or thoroughbred
racing. The total also surpassed both signature
events during the 2001 season, beating out the
attendance for the Dan Patch Invitational during
the harness meeting and the Indiana Derby during
the thoroughbred meet. “I couldn’t be more
pleased with the evening,” said Rick Moore, Hoosier
Park’s president and general manager. “All
of our employees made sure that everyone had a
great evening. It’s nice to see our employees buy
into what we are trying to do this year. We have
challenged them to ‘raise the bar’ and everyone
reacted. Everyone did his or her job. It is always
a group effort. It’s never one person here at Hoosier
Park.”
APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE!!!
Applications for Harness Tracks of America scholarships
for the 2002-2003 academic year are now
available. This year, the scholarship fund will offer
six $7,500 scholarships to deserving students.
Scholarships are awarded for one year and are
based on academic merit, financial need and active
harness racing involvement. For information
on the HTA scholarship program or to download
and print an application, visit
www.harnesstracks.com and follow the link marked
“Scholarships.” Information can also be obtained
by calling the HTA offices at 520-529-2525. The
deadline for applications is June 15, 2002. The
HTA scholarship program, begun in 1973, has made
121 grants to 91 worthy students since its inception,
with scholarships totaling $280,000.