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, Editor‘SURVIVAL’ IS NEW BUZZ WORDAll of a sudden, survival is on everyone’s mind,in racing as well as in Louisiana. Maryland isworrying about the survival of its racing industry,and getting a lot of suggestions from the Baltimoreand Washington press, both of whom definehorse racing as thoroughbred racing, andscarcely seem to know there also is a major harnessracing industry in Maryland. The BaltimoreSun, editorializing on this, calls the night racingexclusivity, designed to separate the days andnights into their long-established domains, unreasonable.It bemoans the fate of the “AverageJoe,” who generally finds himself working at 1p.m. on weekdays, as “out of luck.” He can, ofcourse, go to the harness races at night, but theSun does not consider that as “worth saving.”Magna-bashing has become a popular journalisticsport in Maryland and the District of Columbia,as if this big company has some huge responsibilityto Maryland to continue to lose money.Magna may have made mistakes in what it hasdone or not done in Maryland, but destroying oneracing industry to help another is not the answerto Maryland’s racing problems.In Iowa, the Racing and Gaming Commission hasrejected a claim by the National Cattle Congressthat it still holds a gaming license issued in theearly 1990s at the now shuttered Waterloo GamingPark. The NCC called its bid “an act of desperation,”saying that without the license the NationalCattle Congress fair in Waterloo, a fixturesince 1910, is doomed.Elsewhere on the “survival” front, the StateBoard of Horse Racing in Montana is discussingthe possible consolidation of Montana’s five minorracing meets into one to help save the sportin that state. Racing days in Montanahave dropped from 120 to 37, and tracksfrom 12 in 1982 to 5 today.September 12, 2005In California, where doom is less imminent, controversythrives. Gov. Arnold Schwarzeneggerannounced last Friday that he might allow twoIndian tribes to set up Vegas style casinos inBarstow, far from their ancestral homes. Barstowis in favor of getting both casinos for its economy,but southern California tribes that already havecasinos are not. The chairman of the San ManuelBand of Mission Indians, which owns a large casinojust out of the city limits of San Bernardino,called Schwarzenegger’s move, “Reservationshopping at its worst.” The geographic discrepancyinvolved is interesting. The Los Coyotes,380 strong, have a 27,000-acre reservation inWarm Springs in San Diego county, but in ruggedcountry that is relatively inaccessible. The BigLagoon Band, 18 members strong with 20 acresin Humboldt county in northern California, are600 miles from Barstow, but the state insistedthey be allowed to have a Barstow casino as acondition to the Los Coyotes, and both will get2,250 slots. Barstow is a small city of 23,000, butis located on U.S. 15, the main highway from LosAngeles to Las Vegas, and about midway betweenthe two cities. One estimate, repeated severaltimes in the Los Angeles Times, estimates that60 million motorists pass thru every year, a highlyimprobable number since it breaks down to almost165,000 a day. Its gas stations have 25 to30 pumps each and reportedly are busy all day,and its McDonald’s franchise is one of the fivelargest grossing in the entire chain. In case whereyou wonder where two little tribes would get themoney to build $160 million dollar casinos, theanswer is in BigWest Gaming, way out West inDetroit. BigWest is Marian Ilitch, who made hermoney selling pizza, founded the Little Caesarschain, and now owns much of Detroit, includingthe Red Wings, Tigers, Olympia arena, theaters,and other scattered activities. She also had westcoast power broker Willie Brown as consultant.