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, Sept. 30, 2010PROGRESS IN NJ, WITH REALISMIt appears that racing leaders in New Jerseyare nearing or have reached agreementon a proposal that if accepted wouldallow a Monmouth Park experimentaltype meeting to go forward at the Meadowlandsfor next year...without slots, sincethat appears realistically to be a futuregoal.One thing seems certain. Tom Luchento,president of the Standardbred Breeders& Owners Association, is not about to letthe slots issue die. In presentations Mondaythis week at a symposium for legislatorsand other leaders at Perretti Farmsin Cream Ridge, and again the followingday at the Summit III at Monmouth Park,Luchento made it clear that slots must bethe ultimate goal for racing in the state.On Monday at Perretti, he told the gatheringof 100 or more, “While we all knowwhat the solution is -- and I will addressalternate gaming -- we have been activelypursuing a number of options. In the interim,we need funding to sustain us beforewe can secure the legislation we needto implement to implement such programsas internet gaming, exchange wagering,sports betting and the expansion of offtrackwagering facilities. As the head ofthe standardbred industry in New Jersey,I cannot let down the people who supportus. I have to believe that all optionsare on the table, including slots or acasino at the Meadowlands.“I would be remiss in my position as presidentof the SBOANJ if I did not continueto fight for the biggest piece in the puzzle,essential to securing our future.” Hesaid slots at the Meadowlands could yield$1 billion a year to the state treasury.Luchento said that “If this was put beforethe public, there would be a title wave ofsupport. Yet a minority of decision makersseem to be holding slots hostage forthe benefit of a few corporations who donot seem to put the best interests of NewJersey first.”At the “Summit” at Monmouth, he toldthe audience that equine farms represented20% of the agricultural businessin the state, with 700 farms, 176,000 acresof land and 13,000 jobs at stake. Withoutthose being saved, he predicted “thestate’s greenways would become parkways.”He concluded by saying, “Muchhas been said about the horse industrybeing self-sustaining. In a way, that hasalways been impossible. It requires gamblingto prime the economic engine thatsupports the breeding, training and racingof horses. The only difference now isthat with the addition of lotteries and casinos,those gaming dollars are spread outand not necessarily going into pari-mutueltote machines. But there is no reasonthat the dollars in slot machines cannotnow be part of that economic engine.” Hetold legislators he hoped they would cometo the conclusion “that this is an industryworth saving.”