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, EditorTuesday, October 5, 2010THE BUSINESS BEAT.....In Alabama, in what the BirminghamNews called “one of the biggest investigationsof corruption in the history of theAlabama State House, four state senators,powerful lobbyists, and Alabama’s gamingking Milton McGregor, were arrestedby federal agents. In all, 11 people werecharged with buying and selling votes inthe legislature. Although some of the defendantssaid the arrests were purely politicalin connection with today’s elections,an assistant attorney general in Washington,Lanny Breuer, said of the 19-monthinvestigation, “Vote buying, like the kindalleged in this indictment, corrodes thepublic’s faith in our democratic institutionsand cannot go unpunished.”In New York, Scientific Games announcedcompletion of its sale of its racing and venuemanagement business to Great Britain’sSportech for $33 million in cash now, $10million more in three years, and Sportechstock worth $26 million.Also in New York, a nasty fight developingbetween HTA director and Tioga andVernon Downs boss Jeff Gural and NewYork City OTB over Gural’s pursuit of rescindmentof the 1% increase from trackrevenues and more free-play vouchers. Ananonymous NYCOTB official said defiantlythat the company is not going to allowharness tracks “to take down the entireindustry.” Gural says the exactopposite is true.In West Virginia, the racing commission,hopes to find funds to transfer salaries ofjudges, stewards and investigators nowpaid by tracks to the state, which the commissionsays “will modernize outdatedrules and eliminate the appearance of aconflict of interests.” Three onsite trackvets at Charles Town Races and MountaineerRacetrack also will be included inthe proposed transfer.In New Jersey, the Asbury Park Press, ina strong editorial advocating support ofracing, called the governor’s chief aide onthe issue, Jon F. Hanson, “mule headed inhis insistence that the state should pull theplug on financial support for the horse racingindustry while at the same time pouringmoney into Atlantic City by taking it over.”The paper said, “The governor needs tostop his either-or thinking. The choice isnot between horses and Atlantic City. It’sabout how to make them mutually beneficial.”In Pennsylvania, TVG announced a partnershipwith Harrah’s Chester Casino andRacetrack that will enable TVG to takebets in the commonwealth.In Kentucky, Churchill Downs is offeringdiscounted Breeders’ Cup general admissiontickets and announced it will eliminate64 jobs in a move to reduce redundancywith its purchase of youbet.com.In Las Vegas, signs that the AmericanGaming Association is moving towardendorsement of online betting.