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
SUNY WINS PROXIMITY AWARD
The State University of New York at Morrisville’s
program in Equine Science and Management has
been named the 2002 winner of the United States
Harness Writers’Proximity Award. Named for the
great trotting mare of a half century ago, the Proximity
is awarded annually to an individual or organization
that makes a consistent and important
contribution to harness racing. The SUNY-
Morrisville program is the only one in the nation
in which students can focus exclusively on harness
horses, and it offers degrees in equine science and
management and equine racing management. Of
its 200 students, 10 to 15 each year prepare trotters
and pacers for racing across the Northeast,
and the school now conducts a standardbred sale
that has been increasing in quality and importance
each year, growing from a $70,000 gross in its first
year in 1988 to more than $2 million last year. The
program is housed in a new Equine Breeding and
Training center that includes a 34,000-square foot
facility and a separate 80-acre equine center with
a half mile harness training track. Associate Professor
of Equine Science Bill Maddison will accept
the Proximity Award at harness racing’s Night
of Stars at the Mirage in Las Vegas February 21.
IT’S UNCONSTITUTIONAL; SO?
The Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Cincinnati
has ruled, in a 2-1 decision, that the city of
Detroit violated the United States Constitution in
giving preferential treatment when it awarded two
casino licenses. The suit was brought by the Lac
Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
Indians, and the federal judge who heard the case
upheld the Detroit ordinance. The Appeals Court
has overturned his decision and remanded the case
back to the lower court for further consideration.
Both companies that were awarded the licenses
are operating casinos.
January 14, 2002
What happens next is anyone’s guess. The two
casinos involved, Greektown Casino and Atwater
Entertainment Associates, which partnered with the
Mandalay Resort Group of Las Vegas, both helped
place initiatives on the city ballot, then organized
support for the statewide referendum. Detroit’s
city ordinance stated that preference should be
given in awarding licenses to developers who
“made significant contributions by actively promoting
and significantly supporting” the ballot initiatives.
The Lac Vieux argued this discriminated
against the tribe for failing to take a politically
correct position in the initiative debate, and the
federal appeals court agreed with them. The court
said the city effectively ended the high stakes competition
for the casino licenses before it began, and
concluded, “This we cannot allow. Barring governments
from endorsing or punishing political
activity, or the lack of it, is among the paramount
functions of the First Amendment’s Free Speech
Clause.”
WEG ROLLS ON: NET IS NEXT
Bouyed by a record year in which overall handle
rose 11.1% to $1.35 billion, the Woodbine Entertainment
Group has announced it hopes to have
Internet betting available for patrons “within six
months.” WEG and HTA president David Willmot
said “the enabling regulations are very close,”
noting that the Canadian Pari-Mutuel Association
has agreed that the concept of other electronic
devices is exactly the same as betting over a telephone
line, which WEG has been doing for a number
of years. Willmot said it was important to establish
legal Internet wagering to counteract illegal
off-shore sports books. Elsewhere, more good
news. In New Jersey, the Meadowlands and
Monmouth set on-site betting records and handled
a total of $1.575 billion from all sources, paying
$99.9 million in purse money, and in Quebec
Hippodrome de Montreal was up 3.12% in
total handle.