HARNESS TRACKS OF AMERICA Executive Newsletter

HARNESS TRACKS OF AMERICAExecutive NewsletterA daily fax and e-mail report on racing and gaming developments in North America and beyondStanley F. Bergstein, EditorThursday, July 1, 2010COULD THIS BE NJ’S ANSWER?Here comes Betfair! That seems a realpossibility in New Jersey after the GeneralAssembly unanimously approved exchangebetting. The measure now goesto the state Senate’s Wagering, Tourismand Historic Preservation committee, butthe Senate and Assembly both quit for thesummer after today’s session. Gov. ChrisChristie’s office, meanwhile, extended thedeadline for the much-anticipated reportof the special gaming, racing and sportsadvisory meeting from yesterday to August1. His counsel, Jeffrey Chiesa, gavethe impression of a possible link betweenthe two events when he wrote to advisorycommittee chairman Jon Hanson,telling him that “the emergence of additionalmatters” had in part triggered themandated delay. Hanson announced that“Since there are some real-time issues,”the committee was delaying the filing ofthe report.” The new head of New Jersey’sCasino Association, Mark Juliano,said he did not read the governor’s extensionas meaningful. Betfair has aggressivelyand skilfully pursued a base inthe United States, first buying TVG andusing that as a platform for lobbying asan American industry. It also is sponsoringSaturday’s $750,000 United NationsHandicap at Monmouth Park. If New Jerseybecomes the first state in the nation topermit exchange betting, the fate oflive racing in Jersey becomes evenmore problematical.UGLY DISPUTE IN ALABAMAAlabama Department of Safety personnelwere in effect ejected from the Greenetrackcasino in Greene county yesterday.The Alabama Supreme Court respondedquickly by ordering them allowed back in,saying, “Compliance with an order of thiscourt is not optional.” The track’s presidenttold Col. J. Christopher Murphy, thedirector of the public safety department,that he did not intend to comply with thecourt’s order. Murphy then said he hadordered the Task Force on Illegal Gamblingpersonnel “to re-enter the facilityand re-secure the site. We have been orderedto do that and we intend to do it ascivilly as possible.” Stay tuned.DECISION IN WHELAN VS. WEGA 3-judge panel of the Ontario SuperiorCourt of Justice has ruled, 2-1, thatWoodbine Entertainment Group cannotprevent former horsemen’s leader JimWhelan from racing there “solely on thebasis that Mr. Whelan has not signed thecurrent version of (WEG’s) Access Agreement.”The court made it clear that itsdecision “does not mean that WEG is notentitled to require an Access Agreementby those who use its facilities, and it is entitledto insist on one as part of its privateproperty owner rights.” It also ruledthat WEG could not bar Whelan for notsigning an agreement “containing termsthat purport to give WEG powers beyondwhat it legally possesses.”