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, EditorMonday, August 23, 201037 SEEK TO RUN OHIO GAMINGGov. Ted Strickland of Ohio hopes to appointthe state’s first Ohio Casino ControlCommission by the middle of September,but one thing is certain. Seven memberswill be appointed, but 30 more will be disappointed.The Columbus Dispatch reportedyesterday that a wildly disparategroup seeks membership on the commission.The paper says the cast of hopefulsincludes a UN appeals tribunal judge, anunemployed landscape architect, severallawyers, naturally, and a couple of cops.Whomever Strickland appoints will havepower to oversee and regulate the operationsof Penn National Gaming, which isbuilding casinos in Columbus and Toledo,and Cleveland Cavaliers majority ownerDan Gilbert’s Rock Ventures, the successfulbidder to build in Cleveland and Cincinnati.Commission members will be paid $60,000a year, but the Dispatch pointed out thatStrickland has strictures on his sevenchoices. The state Senate has approvalpower; there must be at least one lawyerand a certified accountant; one membermust live in one of the four counties hostingthe casinos; the commission can haveno more than four members of the samepolitical party; and no people affiliatedwith either developer may serve. The papersaid Strickland’s choices will reflect“whether he wants to regulate thecasinos with an iron fist, a featherduster, or something in between.”USUAL HOPE AT ROUND TABLEThe customary annual motif of optimismwas in evidence yesterday at the JockeyClub’s round table conference on matterspertaining to racing in Saratoga Springs,complete with happy spins despite acknowledgeddark clouds overhead. StevenDunker, chairman of the New YorkRacing Association for the last sevenyears, said he was never more optimisticthan he is right now, undoubtedly seeingsugar plums as construction nears on theAqueduct racino project, which startedtwo years before Dunker took office. HTAdirector Nick Eaves of Woodbine cited aneed to explore all opportunities, and indicatedWEG’s project with giant Cordishcorporation of Baltimore on an ambitiousoutdoor retail mall and entertainmentcomplex to be called Woodbine Live! onits spacious grounds would be breakingground shortly. Jim Gagliano, COO ofthe Jockey Club, turned a diminishingthoroughbred foal report into good news,saying, “We may have less foals and lessracing, but we expect to have better horsesand better racing.” That commentarysummarized the hopes and aspirations ofall racing for a silver lining to the presentdark clouds. Dennis Robinson, speakingfor the Meadowlands and MonmouthPark, did not dwell on the savage Hansonreport threatening racing, but calledthe Monmouth shortened-season, higherpursesexperiment proof that innovativechange can have positive results.