HARNESS TRACKS OF AMERICA Executive Newsletter

HARNESS TRACKS OF AMERICAIn New Hampshire, they voted, 14-10, to allow upto 17,000 slots at six locations in the state, includingHTA member Rockingham Park. The measurepassed with bipartisan support, but facesa tough fight in the House, where it has beendefeated before, and from the governor, JohnLynch, who has threatened a veto. Lynch wantsthe legislature to wait until he receives a final report,due by May 25, from a commission he selectedto consider the issue. Millennium Gamingholds an option to buy Rockingham if slots pass,and the track would be in line for a $450 millionrenovation, which supporters say would create2,000 construction and 2,500 permanent jobs.In Maryland, the Senate passed, 34-13, a bill thatwould allow table games, including poker, blackjackand baccarat, at Rosecroft Raceway. A $51million renovation job would be needed thereto upgrade the facility, and the measure facesan uphill battle, as it does in New Hampshire,in the House. It lost a similar fight in the Housethree years ago, and it also would require a statewidelocal referendum in November. Mark Vogel,who is seeking to buy the track, said cardswould preserve 200 jobs, create 400 more andproduce as many as 1,500 jobs in ancillary businessand as much as $258 million in gross revenuethe first year for Prince George’s County,where Rosecroft is located. A formidable foe isthe Speaker of the House, Michael E. Busch, whosaid of the measure, “If you did go to full fledgedtable games and card games, that is somethingthat everyone would want to take up at the fiveexisting facilities as well. I don’t think weare quite there yet.”Executive NewsletterA daily fax and e-mail report on racing and gaming developments in North America and beyondStanley F. Bergstein, EditorThursday, March 25, 2010SENATE ACTION IN NH, MD, MN The chairwoman of the Prince George’s delegation,State Senators were busy yesterday, openingDemocrat Melony Griffith, tolddoors to new wagering opportunities in NewHampshire, Maryland and Minnesota.the Baltimore Sun she sympathizes withthe financial problems facing the track, but“I’m just not convinced that the delegation believesthis is the best way to get us to that desiredresult.” She acknowledged that a majorityof voters in the county voted to approve slots inMaryland two years ago, but added, “One mightread the vote as an agreement to allow those jurisdictionswho want to have slots in their communitiesto have them, but I’m not sure that votetranslates into support for gaming.”In Minnesota, Democratic Rep. Al Juhnke attacheda racino bill to another measure thatwas approved by the House Agriculture, RuralEconomics and Veterans Affairs Committee, ofwhich he is chairman. That kept alive hope forslots at the state’s two tracks, including HTAmember Running Aces in Columbus, with alarger House committee still to vote and the billstalled in the state Senate.HOW MUCH BOOZE IN INFIELD?How many gallons of beer and booze will your infieldhold? Pimlico in Maryland is likely to findout on Preakness Day, when it takes big steps-- or perhaps strokes -- to recapture the collegecrowd it lost last year with its ban on booze beingbrought in from outside. A baltimoresun.comfeature says attendance fell by 35,000, to 77,000,and quoted a Pimlico spokesman as saying, “Wewere boycotted by the college kids, but we stillbelieve that was the right decision. Obviously,we took something from them last year.” Thisyear, they are reducing the infield price from $50to $40, and adding a $20 offer for 16-ounce mugsof beer with unlimited refills, individual beerswill sell for $3 instead of the previous $3.50. Howmuch it will cost to haul away those whocan’t walk still hasn’t been calculated.