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 F. Bergstein, EditorA RENAISSANCE? GREAT NEWSWhen someone reports a renaissance in racingthese days, it is like man bites dog: it is news.That’s the word out of Prince Edward Island inAtlantic Canada, once known as the Maritimes,where new legislation and a newly built racetrackhave rejuvenated the sport. To fully understandand appreciate this, you have to realize thatPrince Edward Island is one of the hotbeds ofharness racing anywhere, on scale. It is difficultto drive around the island and not see trottersand pacers in backyard paddocks, and the peopleknow the sport intimately. One of the world’sgreatest trainer-drivers, Joe O’Brien, hailed fromthere. And things had been looking grim for awhile. Atlantic Lotto tried to revive things once,then pulled out, and trainer Ron Matheson says,“It was pretty dismal for a few years.” Then AtlanticLottery Corporation stepped in, and aracino is being built at the island’s main racingvenue, Charlottetown Driving Park, scene of amajor racing festival each summer. The physicalracetrack itself was rebuilt, casino subsidies alreadyare in place, and purses are up some 50%since last year. One of the island’s leading breeders,Brian Andrew of Meridian Farms, says, “Thestandardbred industry is a very important aspectof the agriculture scene on PEI, and if it’s goingahead, then it only means it’s going to help theeconomy as well -- in terms of sales, feed, harness,equipment, it all filters down.” A sign ofthe revival is the fact that on a recent card, 107horses were entered and drew in and another 99that were entered did not get in. That’s a sign ofrenaissance. Just thought that another reminderof what alternative gaming can do -- not that oneis needed -- might brighten an otherwise dullThursday. If you ever get a chance to go toCharlottetown for the Gold Cup and Saucer classicin summer, make the trip. You’ll findit entertaining and, who knows, perhapseducational.July 21, 2005ROBERTS KNOWS GAMINGNot sure it makes any difference, but if John Robertsis confirmed as a Supreme Court justice --anybody game enough to bet against that odds-onchoice? -- it will mark an unusual occurrence, ajustice who knows gaming. Roberts, while in privatepractice, participated in a 1999 case beforethe Supreme Court involving gaming, where theCourt ruled unanimously that banning televisionand radio advertising for casinos violated the FirstAmendment. Roberts, according to the Las VegasReview-Journal, did not appear during oral arguments,but prepared a brief and was “counsel ofrecord” for the American Gaming Association. Hewrote that an advertising ban could not be justifiedby “the perceived dangers of commercial casinogaming.” The briefs were filed in support ofthe Greater New Orleans Broadcasting Association,26 television and radio stations that won theircase against federal attempts to ban air ads forcasinos in Louisiana and Mississippi. Roberts andthe American Gaming Association’s presidentFrank Fahrenkopf both worked for the same Washingtonlaw firm, Hogan and Hartson, in 1986.Fahrenkopf said Roberts would “decide casesbased on the facts and law presented,” but added,“It’s nice to know there is a member of the courtwho at least knows about the industry and its background.He is aware of the real picture of the industry,and not just the myths and superstitionsstill in the mind of some of the media. That’s apositive, but it may not help us.”INSURANCE NOT SIMPLE, BOYSKentucky’s blue ribbon panel on jockey compensationinsurance is discovering that, and hasbegged off meeting a September 1 deadline tomake recommendations to Gov. Ernie Fletcher,saying it would be premature without further information.One member said, “A proposal isgreat, but if we can’t fund it, it’s not worth awhole lot.”