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, EditorFriday, July 30, 2010TODAY’S NEWS FROM BOSTONA compromise was reported in Massachusetts,where House and Senate confereeshave been deadlocked in their attempts toreconcile differences in their bills on casinosand slots at tracks. With 12 hoursleft to pass the legislation, a proposal hassurfaced to allow three resort casinos andtwo slot machine licenses, to be awardedto two of the state’s four racetracks thatmake the highest bids. Were this bill topass, it faces a veto from Gov. Deval Patrick,who has offered his own compromiseby agreeing to one track slots license, opento any bidder and not limited to tracks.The deadline for action is 8 p.m. tonightto provide for a vote tomorrow, the lastday of the current legislative session. Thegovernor wants the measure cleared, andis demanding the legislators also take actiontoday on other pending measures thathave been caught in the pipeline while thetwo legislative bodies argue their respectivepositions on slots at tracks, passed bythe House but rejected by the Senate.AND FROM NEW YORKState Supreme Court judge Barry Krameryesterday threw out the Aqueduct EntertainmentCompany’s bid to be renamedwinner of the Aqueduct racino franchise,worth billions over 30 years. The AEC’slawyer, Daryl Davis, called the decision“absolutely ridiculous,” and said AECwill take the decision to the AppellateDivision in Albany.NEW JERSEY FIGHTS BACKTom Luchento, the president of the StandardbredBreeders and Owners Associationof New Jersey told 150 horsemenmeeting at the Meadowlands last nightthat “We are not going quietly into thenight. We have a battle to fight and boththe thoroughbred horsemen and the standardbredhorsemen are united in thisbattle.” Luchento said, “Notwithstandingthe Governor’s Report prepared byJon Hanson, we are not folding, fading orleaving. Let me dispel the rumors. We arenot done here. We are not close to closingthe doors here at the Meadowlands or atFreehold.” Luchento said the Hanson reportwas no surprise, “given the nature ofthe New Jersey Gaming, Sports and EntertainmentAdvisory Commission (theHanson commission) but it still was a hardpill to swallow. What the Report offersare largely undoable options.” Luchentosaid the appeal to the state would benot only preservation of racing, but alsothe land that is dedicated to horse farms,training centers and the supporting industries.He called the fight “a Green Acresissue in this state,” saying half of the openspace in New Jersey has been developedand more will follow. Luchento called onhorsemen to make their concerns knownto their legislators and attend the upcoming“Gaming Summit” to include sessionsin Atlantic City Aug. 6 and at the Meadowlandsin September. His full remarksare in this week’s Track Topics.