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, January 14, 2010NEW GUV SAYS “BAD IDEA”That’s what New Jersey’s new governor ChrisChristie said of one of outgoing governor JonCorzine’s last acts as governor. Christie said theidea of repealing a 30-year prohibition on exitingstate employees joining firms that represent casinoswithin two years of leaving their state jobswas a bad idea, and he urged Corzine not to signit. Christie, a former prosecutor, said, “I thinkthat’s a bad thing. For a governor who’s said hewants to be tough on ethics, I hope he doesn’tsign it. This is not the era in which we want toloosen ethics laws.” A few hours later, Corzine’soffice announced the deed was done, and he hadsigned the bill. If you were thinking of invitingboth governors to dinner, you might plan on doingit on different nights.THE WINNERS’ CORNERDriver DAVID MILLER, named to Ohio’s harnessracing Hall of Fame by the Ohio chapterof the U.S. Harness Writers Association...DriverCHRIS PAGE, 26, chosen as the Peter HaughtonMemorial Award winner, honoring a young risingstar, by the Ohio writers.....Sportswriter BOBJORDAN of the Asbury Park Press in New Jersey,named winner of the 2009 Clyde Hirt mediaaward for coverage of harness racing by HarnessHorsemen International....Harness horse ownerW. KENNY WOOD, winner of HHI’s DominicFrinzi Person of the Year, for more than a dozentrips to Ghana where his Lifetime Well Drillingcompany has drilled hundred of wells to provideclean drinking water for residents....OwnerFRANCIS AZUR, winner of HHI’s AppreciationAward for his work in promoting and supportingthe Orleans county fair in Vermont....Photographer CLAUS ANDERSEN of CanadianSportsman magazine, winner of first place forexcellence in harness racing photographyin both feature and race photo categories.The award, named for the late GeorgeSmallsreed, was sponsored by Jeff Gural.REACTOR COMING, TROUBLEDA hero worshipped by New Zealand kids andtheir parents when he won 16 straight races ayear ago, the pacing star Auckland Reactor,troubled since by a palate problem and otherills, is headed to America. He will undergo treatmentfor the flipped palate, and be trained for areturn to racing in June by Kelvin Harrison inNew Jersey. A son of Mach Three, who also siredHorse of the Year Somebeachsomewhere here asAuckland Reactor was burning up New Zealandracing, has won 25 of 31 lifetime starts and justunder $1.5 million.MD SLOTS ALSO TROUBLEDNot one coin has yet clinked in slot play in Maryland,where they were legalized two years ago,but a legislator already has introduced a bill thatwould divert $50 million from purses to the stateto buy fancier slot machines. The House of Delegateslegislator who has pre-filed the proposal,Frank Turner, wants the purse dedication fromslots cut from 7% to 3.5%. He denies that themove will seriously harm racing, and says thestate-of-the-art machines, for which $30 millionalready is provided, will cost far more, and areneeded to meet surrounding state competition.Turner says racing still will be in “better shape”than they would have been without slots, but onelegislator, Jim Mathias, called the proposal “disingenuous,”and said he thinks it is important toget the five allocated locations up and runningbefore making such a drastic cut. Keep your eyeon this one. It is deadly dangerous, with the potentialto stoke similar cuts elsewhere.BRIGGS, PATTAK WIN HERVEYSDave Briggs, editor of the Canadian Sportsman,and Evan Pattak, who covers racing at TheMeadows and writes for Hoof Beats, have wonthe major writing awards in the annual JohnHervey competition, started by the editorof this HTA newsletter 48 years ago.