2005 - Harness Tracks of America, Inc.

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HARNESS TRACKS OF AMERICAExecutive NewsletterA daily fax and e-mail report on racing and gaming developments in North America and beyondStanley F. Bergstein, EditorPOMPANO SETS REOPENINGPompano Park, lashed and closed by HurricaneWilma, will resume simulcasting Thursday andexpects to present live racing again starting onFriday night, Dec. 2. Live matinees with purses,open to the public without charge, will be held thiscoming Saturday and a week later, on Nov. 26, tohelp ease the financial strain on idle trainers andowners. General manager Dick Feinberg, announcingthe dates, said, “After assessing all ofthe repairs that will be needed to reopen the facilityfrom the damage, we are happy that we shouldbe able to reopen ahead of schedule.” The second,third and fourth floors of the clubhouse andgrandstand, and the poker room, suffered considerabledamage. The tote board and paddock suffereddirect hits, and more than 10 barns on thebackstretch will have to be replaced. It appearsthat the drivers’ room building, which also housesthe racing secretary’s office and security, judges’and state offices, will have to be demolished, aswill the outdoor bleacher area. Feinberg said Pompanohoped to be able to race a full schedule whenit reopens Dec. 2, racing Mondays, Wednesdays,Fridays and Saturdays.STARTING ALL OVER AGAINIt is difficult to tell how much money -- privateand public -- has been wasted by the decision ofthe Pennsylvania Harness Racing Commissionnot to license either applicant for the state’s finalharness track, but it is in the millions. Neitherapplicant -- the Shick family or Centaur ofIndiana -- has been daunted, Carmen Shick isprotesting that Bedford was judged “for transactionsthat occurred 20 years ago and for whichnone of the principals had any responsibility,”and vowing to beef up financial backing, andCentaur is saying that topography and entranceplans that didn’t please the threecommissioners are “issues that are easilyresolved.”November 14, 2005IT WILL BE BUFFALO OR NADAThe Appelate Division of the New York State SupremeCourt has unanimously upheld a lower courtruling that says if the Seneca Nation of Indianswants to build a casino in Erie county, it has tobuild in the city of Buffalo. The Buffalo suburb ofCheektowaga, near the airport, appealed a June2004 ruling to that effect, but the Supreme Courtsaid it was the legislature’s intent to have the casinobuild within the city limits of Buffalo. TheSenecas have acquired nine acres along Michiganavenue in downtown Buffalo and are planningto locate their casino on the second floor of a railterminal there. The Supreme Court, despite itsname, is not the highest tribunal in New York, andCheektowaga says it will carry its fight to the Courtof Appeals, which is the ultimate arbiter.AN AUSSIE BETFAIR INQUIRYThe English betting exchange Betfair still isnot licensed in the state of Victoria in Australia,but that did not prevent one $30,000 beton the favorite to lose in a race at Sandownthere Saturday. The horse, Vengo, finishedninth, as a $31 outsider won. In addition tothe single $30,000 bet, another $40,000 wasbet on the favorite to lose. The chief stewardtook the word of the jockey that the horse didnot race well in front, and “hit a brick wall atthe top of the straight (stretch)” as a result.Because Betfair is not licensed, the stewardswere unable to ascertain the identity of theBetfair account holder. The jockey said, “Allwe can put down to is that the horse is betteroff ridden quieter than today.” Okay, if yousay so.In this country, the Jockeys’ Guild’s Senatemeets tomorrow to discuss ways of amendingits bylaws as a prelude to an attempt to removeits embattled president, L. WayneGertmenian, who vows to fight the move.
HARNESS TRACKS OF AMERICAExecutive NewsletterA daily fax and e-mail report on racing and gaming developments in North America and beyondStanley F. Bergstein, EditorKY BACKS OFF ON MEDICATIONIt’s better than it was, but not as good as it couldhave been. That’s the verdict on Kentucky’s newmedication rules, which -- like the Old Gray Mare --ain’t what they used to be, but unlike Lady Suffolk,the mare of that song, they are better than they oncewere. The Kentucky Horse Racing Authority unanimouslyapproved changes yesterday limiting racedaymedication to furosemide and two of four permitted“adjunct bleeder medications.” That’s better thanunregulated furosemide and corticosteroids and assortedpainkillers, as before. The new rules will allowsome anti-ulcer medications, some topical liniments,antiseptics, ointments, leg paints and antibiotics,and 24-hour restrictions on alkalizing substancesthat could alter serum or plasma and highbicarbonate readings. The final result is a compromise,the best the new Authority could get, and ithopefully now will pass legislative muster withoutfurther messing around.ONE TRACK FOR NJ RUNNERS?That’s what senior VP for racing Dennis Dowdtold the New York Daily News would be best forNew Jersey racing, and it seems clear he wastalking about Monmouth Park. It also is clearthat the Meadowlands should remain harnessracing’s preeminent track, which it is not in thoroughbredracing. Dowd told the paper hethought that racing runners at more than onetrack in New Jersey was “quite frankly, 1976thinking,” dating back to the Meadowlands’ firstmeeting. “Our costs are escalating and ourhandle is going down on the thoroughbred meet,”Dowd said. “It’s something we’ve obviouslygot to look at, but it couldn’t happen beforeMonmouth hosts the Breeders’ Cup in 2007.”It was interesting to read how the ThoroughbredTimes handled the story. After reportingDowd’s remarks, the magazine said, “TheMeadowlands also conducts harness racing.”They sure do, TT, the biggest andbest in this country.November 15, 2005CHREBET GETS A “Q” LICENSEWayne Chrebet, the New York Jets wide receiverwhose sixth concussion has ended his NFL career,has received a qualifying license from theUnited States Trotting Association that will permithim to drive in qualifiers at the Meadowlandsand Freehold Raceway. Chrebet owns DoubleDown Stables, with 11 horses trained by his goodfriend Kevin McDermott, who says Chrebet enjoysdriving as a hobby at the moment “and isgood at it.” The “Q” license is a first step towardacquiring a provisional license after winning10 races in one year’s time, and that “P” license,when obtained, would enable him to drive at Freehold.Once he completed 25 satisfactory parimutuelstarts, he could apply for an “A” licenseand after receiving one could drive at the Meadowlands.That could be the goal for the highachiever, who lives in Garfield, NJ, not far fromthe Big M.GERTMENIAN AT RISK TODAYThe senate of the Jockeys’ Guild is meeting today,and could vote to change the Guild’s bylawsto allow it to elect a new board of directors,which in turn could act on the reign of L. WayneGertmenian, president of the Guild for the lastfour years. The tide began to turn againstGertmenian after a House of Representatives’subcommittee questioned financial operations ofthe Guild, including Gertmenian’s yearly salaryof $165,000 and another $335,000 he receivedannually through his Matrix Capital Associates,which he owns and operates. Business First alsoreports that Congressional records indicate thejockeys themselves were in arrears by morethan $700,000 in premiums paid to the Guildhealth plan. Posted on a Congressional Web site,the information said that of 320 covered jockeys,251 -- or 78% -- were delinquent in payingmonthly premiums, with 50 owing morethan $5,000.
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2005 - Harness Tracks of America, Inc.

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