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, Editor December 27, 2005THE RACE BEGINS IN PAThe New York Times, meanwhile, reported Sundaythat “blue-chip investment houses likeMore than 20 applicants were scrambling to gettheir applications in by tomorrow’s deadline for Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch and Fidelity nowlucrative gaming licenses in Pennsylvania. That hold hundreds of millions of dollars in shares ofdoesn’t mean the glacial pace will pick up on decidingwho gets the 61,000 slots that will be availliclytraded on the London Stock Exchange andonline casinos and betting parlors, which are pubableat 14 locations around the state. It just headquartered in places like Costa Rica ormeans that an army of state employees will beginto paw over the applications, some of which - tion by American investors underscores a strikingGibraltar.” The paper says the growing participa-- like Mohegan Sun’s -- run to as many as 400 gap between the federal law-enforcement positionpages of information. The tracks will each get a on online gambling and the realities behind whatracino by law, although who will get the sixth harnesslicense still is an open question. Among the that the situation “highlights the difficulty of po-has emerged as a booming business. It also notedother applicants panting for Pennsylvania are licing cross-border activity in the Internet age atDonald Trump, who wants to build a glitzy casino the same time that electronic commerce and a globaleconomy are creating fast economic partnersin North Philadelphia; Harrah’s Entertaiment,which already has Chester Casino and Racetrack across national boundaries.”well underway and would like a standalone casinoin Station Square in Pittsburgh; Boyd Gaming,partnering with Patrick Rooney Jr. and David A state senator in Maryland has prefiled a bill call-TWO INTERESTING IDEASSweet, a friend of Gov. Ed Rendell, to get a nontrackcasino west of Philadelphia; Ted Arneault, voters if they would approve of six designated sloting for a non-binding vote next November askingalready building a thoroughbred track and racino locations in the state, three at racetracks and threein Erie and wanting a standalone on Pittsburgh’s elsewhere. The legislator, Sen. Richard ColburnNorth Shore; 100% Purses, still seeking a thoroughbredtrack near Allentown; Charles Betters be close, but that if it were “no” then the issueof Dorchester, says he doesn’t think the vote wouldand the Biros family, both of which want to cash needs to be dropped. In Kentucky, a state senator,Tom Burch, says if the commonwealth reallyin on the Pittsburgh area; the Pittsburgh Penguins,partnering with Isle of Capri, with plans wants to ensure racing is conducted fairly, the logicalsolution is pre-race testing of all horses beforefor a $290 million arena if they get a casino licenseto go with it; and parking magnate Merrill they compete. “If that is what they actually believe,this is what we should do,” Burch said inStabile, who wants a license but, unlike Isle ofCapri, is not ready to fully fund a new arena for filing his bill.the Penguins. In the Poconos, a developer namedGreg Matzel has submitted an application for a CONNORS USHWAN OF YEARslots license to go with a $1.2 billion, 750-room Longtime publicist Jerry Connors, national secretaryof the U.S. Harness Writers Assn., has beenhotel and 100,000-square-foot casino he proposesto replace Pocono Manor, a 104-year-old Pocono named the group’s USHWAN of the year. He willresort he bought “to continue a great tradition,” receive his honor on the Night of Stars in Vegas.not to mention making a few millionKERRY PACKER DEAD AT 68bucks.Australia’s richest man, media tycoon KerryAh, for springtime in the Poconos.Packer, has died at 68.
HARNESS TRACKS OF AMERICAExecutive NewsletterA daily fax and e-mail report on racing and gaming developments in North America and beyondStanley F. Bergstein, EditorTHINGS STILL GRIM IN ONTARIOAccording to The Harness Edge, live racing willbe halted after Saturday at both Windsor Racewayand HTA member Western Fair. Bothtracks’ contracts with the Ontario HarnessHorse Association expire then, with the last dayof the old year, and neither track has hammeredout a new contract as of press time. Accordingto The Edge, OHHA members from both areasoverwhelmingly voted not to enter horses untila new contract is in place, and asked otherOHHA members and horse people to supporttheir decision.Western Fair has offered the horsemen 130 racingdates and a 50-50 purse split on the first $3.9million of all wagering commissions, whichWestern Fair COO Hugh Mitchell says is theequvalent of 2005 revenues on 112 race dates.The OHHA wants 142 dates, and apparently iswilling to shut down racing rather than yield.This willingness on the part of horsemen to takenothing rather than something also is evidencedat Vernon Downs, where under Joe Faraldo’s legalguidance the horsemen are demanding morethan $9 million in “lost money” and using theclaim to block transfer of the track to Jeff Gural.Faraldo and Gural do not see eye to eye, andFaraldo calls the offer of Eric Spector’s “a betterdeal.” Spector’s group, Oneida Entertainment,filed a new plan after creditors overwhelminglyrejected their first bid, and Faraldo claimsthe new Oneida bid came after the horsemen’sclaim. The horsemen are contending their suittakes precedence over Bankruptcy Court JudgeStephen D. Gerling’s decision on who getsVernon, and Gerling today delayed ruling on theCentral New York Horsemen’s Assn. claim.DON’T BLOW WHISTLE IN KYFair warning to potential whistleblowers inKentucky. Don’t. A month ago, on Nov.28, the Executive Newsletter reported that theDecember 28, 2005commonwealth’s chief veterinarian, Dr. Gary Wilson,had fired off a letter complaining that the statewas operating without adequate veterinary supervision,supplies and equipment. He called the situation“appalling,” and asked, “Is the administrationand Kentucky Horse Racing Authority committedto developing a program that sets industrystandards, or are they interested in just gettingby?” Dr. Wilson got a partial answer last week,telling him that whatever Kentucky did, it woulddo it without his services. Mark York, the deputysecretary of the state’s Environmental and PublicProtection Cabinet, headed by LaJuana Wilcher,who originally recommended Wilson for the job lastJuly, sent the pink slip to Wilson, and then refusedto discuss the matter with the press, calling it “apersonal matter.” Personal, we presume, betweenMs. Wilcher and Dr. Wilson, but regardless Dr.Wilson is out.FOUR DOES NOT GO INTO TWOFour entities -- three of them identified and a fourthshrouded in secrecy -- are vying for two casinolicenses in Philadelphia. The four are:The SugarHouse Casino, a partnership of MidwestGaming and Entertainment of Illinois and agroup of local Philly investors.Philadelphia Entertainment and DevelopmentPartners (your guess is as good as ours who theymight be).New Jersey Nets owner Lewis Katz and developerRon Rubin, and -- according toPhillynews.com -- Harrahs’ as landowner or mortgageholder and some very well placed Philadelphiapolitical figures.Donald Trump and Pat Croce.With the Eagles out of it, this should makean interesting playoff in Philadelphia.
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2005 - Harness Tracks of America, Inc.

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