2005 - Harness Tracks of America, Inc.

HARNESS TRACKS OF AMERICAExecutive NewsletterA daily fax and e-mail report on racing and gaming developments in North America and beyondStanley Paul J. Estok, F. Bergstein, Editor Editor July 11, 2005POSITIVES IGNORED IN KY.Jim Gallagher, the transplanted New Yorker taskedwith helping to straighten out the regulatory environmentin the State of Kentucky on Friday outlinedhow the previous incarnation of Kentucky’shorse racing regulatory body failed to pursue penaltiesafter horses tested positive for banned substances.In testimony before the Kentuckylegislature’s Interim Joint Committee on Licensingand Occupations, Gallagher, executive directorof the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority, saidresults from the laboratory that processes postracesamples from the state’s racetracks showeda number of positives but that none of the positiveswas ever reported. “More troubling werefindings that should have been vigorously pursuedfrom an investigative standpoint” but were not,Gallagher told the committee. As a result ofGallagher’s testimony, the legislative committeeasked the Racing Authority for documentation tosupport Gallagher’s allegations. Kentucky Gov.Ernie Fletcher abolished the old Kentucky RacingCommission and reconstituted it as the KentuckyHorse Racing Authority after taking officein January 2004. Gallagher said he came acrossthe information after discussions with the directorof the Iowa State University Laboratory, the laboratorywith the contract to analyze Kentucky’spost-race testing in 2002. Lu Juana Wilcher,Kentucky’s Secretary of the Environmental andPublic Protection Cabinet, which oversees thehorse racing authority, told legislators that whilethe Authority could have spent much more timeon the matter, they decided rather to attempt to,“find the problem, fix the problem, and make sureit doesn’t happen again.” Legislators have askedfor more information about the positives as wellas about the work of the Racing Medication andTesting Consortium, the industry coalition that hasbeen working to, among other things, recommenduniform guidelines for medicationusage and testing in the racing industry.ORE. HOUSES OKAYS MACHINESIn a move supporters say could help save horseracing in the state, the Oregon House approved abill to expand the number of slot and video pokermachines at Portland Meadows. Under the termsof the bill approved last Wednesday, the trackcould have 30 machines, triple the current number.The bill now goes to the Senate, where itsprospects remain uncertain. Portland Meadowsis owned by Magna Entertainment Corp. Lastyear, Magna closed its other Oregon racing operation,Multnomah Greyhound Park, because offinancial losses.NOW THAT’S A POT!The nine players reaching the final table at theWorld Series of Poker main event can no doubtagree on at least one thing: There’s big moneyinvolved. The total prize pool for the tournamentis $52.8 million, minus the house cut of $3.37 million.According to tournament officials, 560 playerswill finish in the money, but the best moneywill be at that final table, where the first personknocked off the table, the ninth place finisher, willreceive a cool million bucks. From there it’s eighthplace, $1.15 million; seventh place, $1.3 million;sixth place, $1.5 million; fifth place, $1.75 million;fourth place, $2 million; third place, $2.5 million;and second place will collect $4.25 million. Thefinal table is scheduled to begin play Friday atBinion’s Gambling Hall & Hotel in downtown LasVegas. The main event began last Thursday atthe Rio hotel-casino with a record 5,619 players,more than double the 2,576 participants in 2004and almost seven times the then-record 839 playerswho entered in 2003.PLATO TO HBPALaura Plato, a former HTA staffer who more recentlyworked for Overbrook Farm in Lexington,Ky., has taken a position as executive assistantwith the National Horsemen’s Benevolent& Protective Association.