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, November 11, 2010PROGRESS & YELLOW LIGHTSPurdue University economist JonathonFurdek says the slots subsidies in Indianahave produced “our own industry of developinghorses and horsemen, and thesenumbers clearly indicate that investmentis paying huge dividends.” Veterinarianand former state senator Bob Jackmanagrees, saying, “The numbers clearly indicatethat the investment is paying hugedividends.” No argument, with racingstables and breeders gravitating towardHoosierland and purses reaching elite statusin the state. The governor of Indiana,Mitch Daniels, has tossed a word of cautioninto the mix, saying the next 2-year budgetwill spare education by avoiding tax hikesand school cuts, meaning, according toIndianapolis TV station wishtv.com, thateveryone else who depends on state fundingshould be nervous. The news servicesays the horse racing industry “leads thepack” preparing for the 2011 General Assemblysession that is seven weeks away,hoping to protect its $60 million industrysubsidies from state riverboat revenue.State Senator Jim Merritt warns that “everyline in the budget will have scrutiny,”and says “state lawmakers will be underpressure to make cuts, and priorities thatcrossed the finish line in the past may benon-starters next year. Everyone that is apart of the budget pie has reason for concern.”Asked if he is worried about thesubsidy, vet Jackman says yes.IN PA, SLOTS “THE LIFELINE”In Pennsylvania, where purses havedoubled with help from slots since theywere introduced, the state’s thoroughbredhorsemen’s association calls them “alifeline,” and says there would be no liveracing in the state without them. Thatassessment was borne out by the PennsylvaniaGaming Control Board, which saysrace betting itself is down 25% in the lastfour years. Of $236 million generated forhorse racing last year thru Pennsylvania’sHorse Development Fund, 80% goesby law to racing purses, 16% to breeding,and 4% for health care benefits and pensionplans. Purses, which totaled $62 millionin 2006, were $134 million last year,with the number of races up from 7,958four years ago to 11,539 last year.The Gaming Control Board also releasedfigures showing a positive increase in slotrevenue on race days, up 8.1% on averagedaily play on days when racing alsowas scheduled. Parx Racing, formerlyPhiladelphia Park, the state’s highestrevenue producer, averaged $1,006,178 aday on slots on racing days, $957,808 ondark days. Penn National slot play averaged$715,748 on racing days, $567,159on dark days. But for big numbers, theSands, whose Venetian and Palazzo LasVegas operations delivered $276.2 millioncombined in the second quarter, saw itsMacau operation take in $1.04 billion.It now will be Sands International.