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, September 9, 2010A VIEW OF THINGS TO COME?Monmouth Park’s 2010 race meeting,which ended on Labor Day Monday, maybe a precursor of things to come in racing,given some remarkable results and statistics.The traditional summer meeting atthe near-oceanside track was compressedinto 49 days, instead of the 82 days racedlast year, with an announced goal of a milliondollars a day in purses. The figurewasn’t quite reached, but it was enoughto make Monmouth the national leaderin average daily purses with $797,079 aday. Average daily all-source handle,however, went through the roof, up 213%over 2009, from $2.54 million last yearto $7.95 million this year. Total bettingreached $389.6 million, up 87% over totalwagering last year, which was $208.4 million.Monmouth raced only three days aweek this year -- Fridays, Saturdays andSundays -- and average daily attendancewas 10,651, up 47%, with average dailyhandle increasing 79% to $766,506.Those numbers undoubtedly will be discussedtomorrow, when the second ofthree Democratic “Summit on Gaming”sessions is held in Pegasus at the Meadowlands,starting at 10 a.m. and runninginto the afternoon. Tom Luchento, presidentof the SBOA of New Jersey, said itwas imperative that members turn outin “a large, respectful crowd.” Attendeesat the first summit in Atlantic CityAug. 6 were noisy and vocal.KITTELSON GETS HIGH HONORJohn Kittelson, the star woodcarver andartist whose work was a featured highlightof HTA art auctions for years, hasbeen named 2010 Cowboy Artist of theYear by the Academy of Western Artistsbased in Gene Autry, Oklahoma. Retiredin Wyoming with recurring health problems,Kittelson received the honor from ajury of his fellow artists honoring his “excellenceand contribution to the westerncommunity for his exceptional talent inpreserving the cowboy and western genreto the world, not only for today, but forthe future.”TWO GET RTIP SCHOLARSHIPSDavid Allen and Heather Shatz, animalscience majors at the University of Arizona’sRace Track Industry Program,have been awarded the Jockey Club JackGoodman Scholarships for 2010-11, RTIPdirector Doug Reed and Jockey Club executivedirector Matt Juliano have announced.Allen is a senior from Detroit,Shatz a junior from Benson, AZ. TheRTIP program has sent almost 600 alumnito important positions in the Americanracing industry, including HTA executivedirector Paul Estok and former HTA executiveassistant, the late Brody Johnson.PROGRESS, AT A PRICEDaily Racing Form’s Steve Andersen,reporting from Del Mar, says new takeoutincreases could boost Californiapurses 20 to 25%. Big price to pay.