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, December 9, 2010SKY FALLEN, SORTING DEBRISWith the fallen ruins of New York CityOTB littering the entire state and beyond,stunned employees, horsemen, and everydaybetting fans were picking thru theshattered shards today, the full realizationof damage far from assessed or realized.Among the developments:A meeting has been called for nextWednesday in Albany by AssemblymanGary Pretlow, chairman of the Assemblycommittee on racing and wagering, todiscuss the possibility of merging the fiveremaining regional OTBs in the state intoone entity.Larry Schwartz, Gov. David Paterson’spoint man on the disaster, said on radiotalk show “Live from the State Capitol”that there was “a definite possibility” thatSaratoga Race Course could shut down.The chairman of the New York Racing andWagering Board, John Sabini, said therecould be less racing, reduced purses, failureof some smaller tracks and cheaperracing stock in New York.The New York Times’ Russ Buettner, ina story reflecting the newspaper’s longdisinterest in horse racing in the state,reported on 1,000 New York employeeslosing their jobs, without mentioning thefate of many thousands of horsemen inthe state. His assessment of the closure:“Another piece of gritty old NewYork gone the way of the Automatand the Times Square peep show.”Sabini, in his role, said New York CityOTB represented “about 45% or so ofhandle in the state. In an industry that’shaving a tough time anyway in a tougheconomy, that’s a huge, huge hit.” Theracing board hoped to switch lost customersto advanced deposit wagering by allowingthem to register online and for liberalizedrules for tracks to attract them.Marc Richards, an attorney representingOTB’s many creditors, pointed out thatif OTB “stays closed for one or two orthree days, forget it, there’s nothing left.It’s a fragile asset to begin with.” He estimatedclosing costs at $19 million, saidtrack owners seemed less likely than everto collect the $67 million owed them, andthe state probably would lose the $11 millionowed it. He said pension and healthbenefits for retirees could exceed $600million.AND IN NEW JERSEYGov. Chris Christie vetoed the 2011 racingdates awarded by his state racing commission,calling it “inappropriate to approvethem.” The commission had awarded thefull 141 dates to both the Meadowlandsand Monmouth Park, leaving the Meadowlandswith 36 dates, six of them a special“Hambletonian week” meeting andthe rest at Monmouth Park. Neither ideais practical, but the Christie-Hanson juggernautto kill racing at the Meadowlandsrolls on with 2011 racing scheduled tobegin in a little over two weeks.