HARNESS TRACKS OF AMERICA Executive Newsletter

HARNESS TRACKS OF AMERICASTRAIGHT TALK IN ONTARIORod Seiling, chairman of the Ontario RacingCommission, has written an open letter stronglycritical of tracks and horsemen who have beenunable or unwilling to reach a new agreement onsimulcasting. Seiling ordered ORC executive directorJohn Blakney to intervene and work withthe parties involved, and presented the heart ofthe issue in a paragraph reading, “Whether theparties realize it or not, horse racing is in a crisisas it relates to the public betting on its races....Itcannot be allowed to become a total ward of thestate. It must keep what customers it has andidentify new ways and means to build the base.In short, horse racing has to have an entertainmentvalue component. Allowing the old ways ofshutting out the customer -- a process that helpedbring on the current crisis -- is not in the cards....Horsepeople and racetracks are partners; it istime for them to start acting as such.”Underscoring Seiling’s remarks was a developmentin Illinois, where the racing commissionstripped Fairmount Park of all but 3 days of itsdate allocation this year because a dispute betweenthe track and labor has not beensettled. The track had been awarded 52dates by the commission, but when theExecutive NewsletterA daily fax and e-mail report on racing and gaming developments in North America and beyondStanley F. Bergstein, EditorThursday, January 7, 2010FINALLY: TABLE GAMES IN PA union representing the six state racing officialsIt took time -- a lot of it -- but the Pennsylvania working at Fairmount Park turned down theHouse, faced with blame for 1,000 lost jobs and track’s latest offer this week, failing to meet athe potential for losing up to 10,000 others, finallypassed the casino table games bill, 103-89, to 3, on April 27, 30, and May 1. Fairmountcommission deadline, it cut the meeting from 52and sent it to Gov. Ed Rendell for his certain signature.Rendell had threatened to fire 995 state harness racing. What happens to all other trackraced 232 dates in 1999, the last year it offeredemployees tomorrow if the bill had not been employees is uncertain, and track president BrianZander said he had no comment at present.passed by then. Racinos at the state’s tracks willbe able to install 250 tables for poker, blackjack The dispute involves health insurance issues.and other games, and smaller resort casinos will Racing board executive director Marc Lainoget 50. State gaming board officials say it could said, “The deadline has come and gone,” and hebe six to nine months before the games are operational.modify its order and restore racecalled it “highly unlikely” that the board woulddays.IN OTHER RACING NEWS.....Although news headlines were wildly disparate-- Thoroughbred Times led its story saying,“Kentucky Attorney General: Instant RacingNot Permissible” while the Louisville Courier-Journal headlined its story, “AG says slot-likeInstant Racing machines OK,” it appears whatthe AG really said was state racing rules wouldhave to be rewritten to allow Instant Racing, butthat could be done if the governor and racingcommission chose to do so. Gov. Steve Beshearsays he still calls video slots “the best solution forour struggling signature industry,” and HouseSpeaker Greg Stumbo, who is introducing a billthat would allow it, asked, “If the governor couldallow Instant Racing, then why couldn’t the governorallow slot machines at race tracks?”....InIndiana, a Senate committee is considering legislationthat would withhold lottery winnings ifwinners owed child support payments. Morethan 165,000 non-custodial parents each owemore than $2,000 in back payments in Indiana....In Delaware, a report to the sports commissionsays the state needs two more casinos, but acknowledgesgranting them would cut profits atexisting racinos at HTA members Dover Downsand Harrington, and at Delaware Park.