BCHRIMC Report | Railbird Corner

An occasional compilation of horse racing industry news and views.

Prepared for the BC Horse Racing Industry Management Committee by Brian Butters, Director of Racing Sustainability

The Supreme Court of Canada this week made a landmark ruling that affirms the right of horse owners to deduct horse racing business losses from other income in filing their taxes.

The Supreme Court ruled against the Crown?s appeal of a January 2011 Federal Court decision which sided in favour of Toronto lawyer and standardbred horse owner John Craig. The 2011 decision had allowed Craig to be able to deduct more than the $8,750 currently allowed under Section 31 of Canada?s Income Tax Act.

This decision is excellent news for horse owners of all breeds since the much-maligned deduction limit has been a serious impediment to investment in horse racing for many years.

Hastings Racecourse received a new lease on life Friday, as its leaseholder signed a new operating agreement with the city of Vancouver that secures its place at the Pacific National Exhibition grounds for at least two more years.

The 123-year-old horse racing track was effectively condemned to closure at its location until the contract renewal surfaced, ending speculation about the entertainment hub?s demise and extending its time there to Nov. 1, 2014.

?We?re relieved to be able to move forward with the city and look at long-term plans without having a looming deadline,? said Howard Blank, vice-president at the Great Canadian Gaming Corporation, which leases the racecourse from the city.

Hastings got a boost from the heroics of local favourite Mario Gutierrez, the Mexican jockey who returned earlier this month to the racetrack where his career first began to take shape.

Riding the Canadian-owned I?ll Have Another, Gutierrez raced to victories at the Kentucky Derby and Preakness before the horse was forced to withdraw from the Belmont Stakes in June because of a leg injury, denying Gutierrez a shot at the Triple Crown.

?It?s such a great feeling to be back,? he said earlier this month. ?It makes me feel like I?m at my house.?

Blank suggested the prodigal jockey?s return could only have helped contract discussions and the case for an extended stay at the PNE.

?I think Mario has been a great boon to horse racing in general across North America, and specifically to our home park,? he said.

?We?re really thrilled that he has been working with us, not only riding but coming back and handling press conferences, etc., on site.?

The two-year extension granted by the city?s Real Estate Services gives the racetrack a measure of stability within a struggling thoroughbred horse racing industry in B.C.

Despite the addition of 600 slot machines in 2008, Hastings has seen its long-term prospects dwindle with shrinking revenues and growing competition from Lower Mainland casinos.

?There have been dramatic down-turns in racing overall in the last five years,? Blank said. But Hastings has managed modest attendance increases so far in 2012, he added.

An ongoing provincial review into the horse racing industry may have played a role in limiting the land lease to just two years, said city councillor Raymond Louie, chair of the finance and services committee.

?The lease extension of two years allows for the completion of that horse racing review,? he said.

?That would be the appropriate place for the parties to start a discussion about a longer term ? or not ? lease for this piece of land.?

The review has fuelled speculation that racing activity would be consolidated into just one of the two major tracks operating in B.C.: Hastings Racecourse and Fraser Downs in Cloverdale.

Last week, however, Rich Coleman, minister in charge of gambling, said consolidation was not a likely outcome.

But a new five-year strategic plan for the horse racing industry will likely call for significant changes, as well as continued operation of both tracks.

Former Langley resident Nigel Holmes, secretary treasurer of Harness Racing BC (HRBC) and long-time Standardbred owner, says the beleaguered industry is slowly winning the race to survive, despite the odds.

HRBC represents the harness racing industry, which employs around 6,000 people in B.C.

In recent years, the industry has had to cope with a dwindling number of race days at Fraser Downs, the exodus of breeders leaving B.C. for greener pastures, and public and government indifference to the sport, and to the fate of the people and horses who depend upon it.

The introduction of slot machines at the track, hyped as a boon for the racing industry, seemed to herald its death-knell instead when gaming revenues failed to materialize and the racing season grew shorter.

?For a while, our industry had a defeatist attitude. Now there is reason for cautious optimism in a business that has been slapped around a lot,? said Holmes.

Owners, breeders, drivers and trainers are working together modernize an industry resistant to change and becoming more politically active.

HRBC?s reorganization started at the top, with the appointment of former Surrey mayor Doug McCallum as CEO two years ago.

?Doug is politically astute, forceful, and is an excellent media spokesman for us,? said Holmes.

The new voice of an old industry has been heard in Victoria. The political tides seem to be turning in favour of harness racing. Holmes says the provincial government is showing support for what it sees as a B.C.-based, agricultural business in the form of financial incentives the industry needs to survive.

In addition to funding, the provincial government is now working with stakeholders in the racing industry to shape its future? and ensure its survival.

?We do believe the current provincial government is willing to work for our industry. It?s good for both breeds.?

Holmes termed the recent announcement by the provincial government of the creation of a management committee to oversee racing in BC as a ?great step forward.?? The committee is made up of representatives from government, the gaming industry, and both the Thoroughbred and Standardbred racing industries.

One of the tasks of the new provincial racing committee is to come up with a long-term strategy for the racing industry and to provide it with much-needed stability.

According to Holmes, the assurance of government incentives and the commitment to a generous number of race days each year at the Fraser Downs track will encourage new blood and new money in harness racing.

There have also been some fundamental changes in the way the harness racing industry does business.

The large breeding farms that used to dot the landscape in Langley are largely gone, replaced by what Holmes terms backyard breeders with three or four horses.

The notable trend in the breeding sector is the emergence of large satellite farms in the interior, where operating costs are considerably less than in the Lower Mainland.

?We?re seeing people like (former Aldergrove resident) Diana Ball move to the Interior and growing their (breeding) business there. Kelly McMillan has 80 acres with 14 to 15 brood mares on Highway 33.? As an owner, it costs me $13 or $14 a day to keep a horse there, as opposed to $18 to $20 down here,? said Holmes.

Another industry trend is the increasing number of trainer/drivers who are part owners of race horses.? The result is more financial incentive for the trainers, and a division of risk between multiple owners.

?I used to own quite a few horses by myself. But when you have invested $20,000 in a horse and it goes lame the hit is too hard.?

While things are looking up for the racing industry in B.C., the harness racing industry in Ontario is now staring death in the face.

The provincial government in Ontario has announced it pulling the plug on slot machines at all racetracks effective next March. Holmes estimates that ?stroke of a pen? will cost the Ontario industry $345 million a year, and will likely result in the closure of 10 or 12 of the 17 tracks in that province, and the loss of thousands of jobs, many in rural areas

The racing industries in B.C. and Ontario, which are economically entwined, face the same underlying problem.

?Governments have a tremendous amount of power over some industries. They can pull the plug on an industry with the stroke of a pen. Governments are put in power by urban voters, and sometimes rural areas pay the price for their decisions.?

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Swimmer Phelps ready to jump into the pool of horse racing

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Michael Phelps may be the most decorated Olympian of all time but he says when he retires from swimming after the London Games, he plans to conquer a new sport: Horse racing.

Phelps says he?s quite serious about buying a race horse with his longtime coach Bob Bowman. He says the two have discussed it repeatedly.

In fact, he has his eye on Preakness 2014 ? if not the Triple Crown.

?I think it would be cool,? Phelps told Yahoo, adding that he hopes to hit all of next year?s Triple Crown races as an observer, if not a shopper.

Yahoo also pointed out that before Preakness this year, Phelps felt out thoroughbred trainer Bob Baffert about conditioning a horse for him and Bowman. Bowman, by the way, refers to himself as a ?horseman? on his Twitter account.

One question remains: What would Phelps name the horse?

I?ll Have Another Gold Medal? Man of the Pool? Swimbiscuit?

Source: Baltimore Sun

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Woodbine?s Battle For Survival; A Chat With Nick Eaves

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When Woodbine Entertainment Group President and CEO Nick Eaves said last month that this year?s Queen?s Plate could be the last edition of the historic race, he set off alarms throughout Ontario racing. While the provincial government?s decision to end the Racetrack Slots Program seemed certain to have a devastating impact on racing in Ontario, it was generally assumed that the Woodbine tracks were strong enough to survive. Are they? It?s a question that Eaves has been dealing with on a daily basis and has yet to be answered. What is the future at Woodbine and Mohawk and what will it take for thoroughbred and standardbred racing to continue to thrive at the WEG tracks? Those were among the questions Eaves was asked.

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Harness Racing Update: Since you made the announcement that the Queen?s Plate and the very future of racing at the Woodbine tracks is in jeopardy, has anything changed? Has your somewhat dire forecast remained the same?

Nick Eaves: I wouldn?t say anything has changed so far as the overall understanding of what the future can look like. The statement about there not being another Queen?s Plate ties directly to our ability as a company, as a committed live horse racing operator, to continue to stay in that? business.

That depends on an ongoing partnership that involves gaming because that?s obviously the model that was built over the last 14 years. It was in? jact a requirement; it was the mandate of the Racetrack Slots Program, that the revenue that was generated through the program be reinvested back into promoting and supporting live racing. We took that very seriously in terms of the investments we made in capital expenditures. We spent about $300 million over that 14 year period both on our obligations around the slot facilities as well as about $200 million in backstretch and frontside customer-oriented improvements to deliver a product that could support that mandate of supporting live racing. We changed our operating structure in terms of the various departments, the way we promote our business, sell our business, all with a view on being able to deliver that. So that?s the reality of the model that resulted from that partnership. To be able to continue on requires the same level of partnership and commitment.

HRU: Woodbine was around for a long time before anyone ever heard of racetrack slots and seemed to be just fine. The betting on your? products is still reasonably healthy. Why couldn?t you continue on without the benefit of slots revenue, albeit with smaller purses?

NE: Something could continue with smaller purses but it?s a matter of pretty straightforward economics. Would there be the same level of investment and participation in an industry which would contract back to where it was some number of years ago? People?s costs have gone up significantly, the whole environment has changed significantly.

It has to be understood that if we went there the size of the business would decrease drastically. The other side of it is the racetracks? ability to continue operating. The genesis of the Racetrack Slots Program was to support and promote live racing and there was a contractual requirement on the part of the racetracks to invest the revenue generated from that program to deliver on that mandate. We?ve done exactly that. By implementing the structure and making investments in the structure, which just can?t be dismantled, that?s a new operating reality. What you can?t do is maintain an operating and capital structure when half the revenue that you?ve been accustomed to is coming in. Then the result is you?ll have to dramatically downsize and restructure. Yes, that is possible. But what will be left? What sort of an industry is left if that occurs? Particularly in the face of what is unprecedented expansion on the gaming front in terms of the number of facilities, on-line expansion, etc,. horse racing standing alone such as it did back in the mid-1990s and abandoning the successful model that was created isn?t sustainable because it?s been built on a partnership.

HRU: Other than a pledge to contribute $50 million to the industry, which no one seems to think is at all adequate, the government hasn?t shown any willingness to help racing. Are you still hopeful that there will some sort of eleventh-hour miracle or offering from the government that will make the picture less bleak for the WEG track?

NE: I am hopeful that with every passing week there is a better understanding of the costs and the consequence if a good solution isn?t reached. I don?t know today necessarily what that?s going to look like, but certainly there?s a greater and greater understanding of the genuine size of the racing and breeding industries and the importance of maintaining that employment and that economic contribution. I know it?s going to be different and we?re not going to go back to the way it was, but we still hope the decision-makers understand the sensibility of a partnership between racing and gaming such that racing can continue to flourish and gaming revenues can be maximized. There ought to be, and I?m still hopeful there can be, a solution which will ensure that outcome. If no such solution comes then the consequences are the very ones that I and so many others have been outlining.

HRU: When you say that there may never be another Queen?s Plate or that Woodbine could close, you open yourself up to charges of making idle threats or saber rattling. How would you respond to such claims?

NE: That has been said. And as I responded then, it wasn?t a threat. It was more about stating a reality and I think that reality needs to be understood and if it turns out that that outcome is acceptable to decision-makers then OK. It wasn?t to be dramatic, to be fear-mongering. It was just stating the case. You can?t overnight go from having half the revenue that the last number of years have delivered and expect to be able to produce anything like the type of racing product that has been built over time.

HRU: When it comes to the future of the WEG tracks, do harness and thoroughbred racing fall under the same umbrella? Might one breed be in more trouble than the other?

NE: Our intention is to continue operating both businesses, both breeds. They have different economics, different operating schedules,? different realities, different purses structures, all kinds of differences. In a way, we need to work through them uniquely as we?re looking at the solutions, but our starting point is that we continue to operate the successful world class thoroughbred and standardbred racing programs that? we have built.

HRU: Understanding that it?s hard to know where this is headed, but as we speak in late July, 2012, what do you believe will be the future for the WEG tracks in 2013 and beyond? We?d like to pin you down a bit here.

NE: It?s just too difficult to predict. There are too many possible scenarios. Our focus and our job is to create a solution. Naturally, that needs to? be is in the interest of the industry and in the interest of the Woodbine Entertainment Group. It also needs to be in the interest of government. Our job is to make sure that?s all understood. Part of that process has included the panel that the government struck to work with the industry to understand the industry better and to determine what a sustainable industry might look like going forward. The panel has done a lot of work in that regard. We don?t know yet what they are going to recommend. You will hear from anybody that has engaged with the panel, which is? many, many people in the industry, that there was a keen understanding of the issues and of the consequences and a willingness to come up with the best possible solution. Time will tell what that will look like.

HRU: Do you sense that there are political leaders and others in a position of power who understand what might happen to racing in Ontario? and are determined to make sure it is not destroyed?

NE: I sense there are those who believe that it cannot be allowed to be devastated and are committed to seeing that it isn?t. It?s going to be hard work together, coming to an understanding as to exactly what the future should look like. I believe there is a genuine interest in trying to solve it.

HRU: What does WEG need from government to ensure that you can continue to operate racing?

NE: The foundation for Woodbine and Mohawk would be meaningful participation in the on-going gaming operations at our two racetracks. It takes all the sense in the world because we operate there already, so we have operations that can be scaled to bring efficiencies on the gaming side. There is an existing customer base, there is proven performance and a proven brand and we have the ability to grow that business with? them. Because of our structure as a not-for-profit and because of our commitment to live racing there are many more benefits in that type of? structure in terms of employment and local economic input than if it that income share went somewhere else. For us, the job is to really make clear that?s the best option and achieve it. It?s obviously not easy because we?re not there yet.

HRU: But how is this different than the status quo? It sounds like you want a continuation of the Racetrack Slots Program, at least for? Woodbine and Mohawk?

NE: We?re not saying status quo. We?re saying let?s continue these very successful gaming operations at our tracks. Government has said it? wants to change the operating model and wants to privatize it. We can work with them to achieve that. But as a starting point let?s commit to really trying to have an outcome whereby through a successful gaming partnership this job intensive economic contributing industry participates. That?s a great outcome. It doesn?t need to be status quo. We can be very creative in terms of new ways to generate incremental revenue that achieves that core priority of government and still enables us to deliver on our core mandate of live racing.

HRU: Is there one particular thing that you believe government is missing? What frustrates you the most? A lack of understanding?? Misinformation?

NE: I think there has been a lack of understanding as to the real size, scale, contribution and reality of the racing and breeding industry in the? province. I know questions weren?t asked, no real level of analysis was undertaken. There were decisions that could have been avoided that were made. That would not have happened had there been a deeper understanding. As an industry we?ve worked hard and have made some progress in helping that understanding come alive. We still have to work to do, that?s for sure.

HRU: If the 2012 Queen?s Plate wasn?t the last, might we see it return with a smaller purse, say $500,000? Might the North America Cup on the harness side survive, but with a much smaller purse?

NE: Everything is possible. We are committed to a solution that will allow us to deliver on our mandate, which is to operate a vibrant, live racing business at our facilities. We have to be creative about all possible solutions. Let?s try to avoid dismantling what has been so successful because there are going to be real implications in costs and job loss that goes with it.

HRU: Considering all the upheaval and uncertainty, is there any chance this year?s Breeders Crown will have to be moved from Woodbine?

NE: We do not anticipate any change to this year?s Breeders Crown races at Woodbine.

Source: Harness Racing Update

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Ontario horsemen battling each other, again. Woodbine ?arrogance? criticized

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FORT ERIE ? The Ontario Horse Racing Industry Association has released its roadmap for the future of live racing, but the plan appears to leave the local track out in the cold.

With the closure of the slots facility, and exclusion from Ontario?s new gaming zones, the OHRIA said they had to ?assume that the Government would only support one Thoroughbred race track.?

?Are we surprised? No,? said Fort Erie Live Racing Consortium?s general manager Jim Thibert. ?Is it outrageous? Absolutely. We?re disappointed, but really, we expected nothing less.?

The roadmap, called the ?Plan for the Future? was unanimously approved by the OHRIA board of directors last week and has been sent along to the province?s horse racing transition panel.

The problem, according to Thibert, is the makeup of the board, which is controlled almost entirely by members from the Woodbine track. He said it?s ?ludicrous? to have 16 of the 18 board seats controlled by Woodbine.

?What we?re looking at is the arrogance of Woodbine, and how it?s creeping through the control mechanisms to exert its influence over the OHRIA and the Horsemen?s Benevolent Protective Association,? said Thibert.

In the new plan, the OHRIA calls for a reduced number of live racing dates for the 2013 season. It proposes dropping the number of thoroughbred races from the current 243 down to 167, and bringing the total number of races down from 1,540 to just 797.

The plan also refers to Fort Erie as a ?B level? track and Woodbine as an ?A level? track.

According to the plan, ?The B level is now likely lost and so races for B level horses would presumably take place at Woodbine.?

Thibert took exception to the wording and said Fort Erie was never a ?B level? track until Woodbine forced them to be one.

?We actually have greater faith in the government of Ontario helping us, than we do in the horsemen?s organizations,? said Thibert.

In light of the plan released by the OHRIA, Thibert said he and FELRC are now developing their own plan for the future, one that does include the local track as a viable place for live racing.

Source: Niagara News Now

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David Willmot steps down from Woodbine chair

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Woodbine Entertainment Group (WEG) has announced the retirement of David S. Willmot as the Company?s Chairman of the Board. James J. Lawson has been elected Chairman.

Mr. Willmot was first elected to the WEG Board in 1984. He served as President & CEO of the Company from 1995 to 2010 and had been Chairman since 2001.

He led the repositioning of WEG, a not-for-profit corporation, around the objective of operating a multi-dimensional entertainment business, committed to maximizing financial performance in order to achieve the highest quality of horse racing.

To that end, the Company has invested approximately $385 million over the past 15 years improving its on-track and off-track customer experience and amenities, implementing industry-leading new broadcasting and wagering technologies and investing in its racetrack facilities and racing products to ensure that they are the very best for local and visiting horsepeople.

In addition to the many other successes during David?s tenure, wagering on Woodbine and Mohawk races across North America and around the world grew significantly and Woodbine played host to both the Breeders? Cup and Breeders Crown championships; the only racetrack to have hosted both.

Beyond Mr. Willmot?s leadership roles at WEG, he has also served on the boards of multiple industry organizations including Breeders? Cup, International Federation of Horse Racing Authorities (IFHA), Thoroughbred Racing Association (TRA), Harness Tracks of America (HTA), Ontario Horse Racing Industry Association (OHRIA), the Jockey Club of Canada, the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society (CTHS) to name a few.

Source: WEG press release

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How racing really stacks up on drug testing

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American horse racing is increasingly admonished in the mainstream media over legal and illicit drugs. The impression conveyed to the public during the recent Triple Crown season?was that the sport is permissive.

But how does horse racing really stack up against the foremost U. S. professional sports leagues on the twin elements of drug policy?testing and meting out of sanctions for transgressions?

Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association have adopted ?reasonable cause? testing policies, whereby a player can be checked at any time if someone in authority infers he may be using a forbidden drug. The National Football League?s collective bargaining agreement limits to four the number of times a player can be tested annually and permits game-day testing of performance-enhancing drugs but not recreational drugs. The National Hockey League states ?Every player will be subject to two ?no-notice? tests every year??

When benchmarked against the forgoing drug-testing practices, horse racing?s standards and procedures are very rigorous. The Association of Racing Commissioners International accurately states: ?Horse racing?s anti-doping program tests for more substances at deeper levels than any other professional sport??and the organization provides data to back up its claim. In addition, some game-day medications that are allowed in the professional sports leagues are verboten in horse racing.

While the American racing industry is a cut above other sports on drug testing, it is arguably worse when it comes to enforcing uniform and timely penalties for drug positives, especially for flagrant offenders. The punitive facet of drug policy is inhibited by multiple racing jurisdictions and often-protracted appeals processes that enable habitual offenders to continue to sully the sport?s image.

Professional sports leagues have quantified the consequences for drug-policy offences that are generally harsher than in horse racing. Measures have become more severe in recent years due to scandals over alleged and proven substance abuse by some superstars.

To illustrate, In MLB, a player?s fourth conviction for the use of a prohibited substance has a minimum two-year suspension and a third positive result for steroids carries a lifetime ban. However, such sentences typically have loopholes. For instance, the NHL allows a banned player to appeal a supposedly permanent exile once two years? time has passed.

Horse racing is held to a high standard on drugs for two entirely different and valid reasons: bettors are entitled to fairly decided outcomes and the welfare of equine athletes depends on the care provided by their handlers.

Drug-related news items that damage racing?s standing with the public and lessen its commercial appeal arise largely from the sport?s apparent leniency towards serial violators of regulations and the prolonged infighting over the race-day use of furosemide. Significant progress on these fronts would greatly diminish the notoriety that detractors seize upon to condemn the sport.

Source: Horse Racing Business, Bill Shanklin

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Strait of Dover will miss rest of season with suspensory injury

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ETOBICOKE, Ontario ? Strait of Dover, who was an impressive winner of the Queen?s Plate and was looming as the horse to beat in next Sunday?s $500,000 Breeders? Stakes at Woodbine, will not see action again this season.

?He had a little filling in a suspensory after his last work,? said Danny Vella, who trains the British Columbia-bred Strait of Dover for Wally and Terry Leong. ?We scanned it, and it looks like he?ll recover, but he?s done for the year.

?He?s one of those horses who?s been perfectly sound, nothing wrong with him. It?s kind of a shock, but it happens.?

The Breeders? Stakes, a 1 1/2-mile turf race, follows the 1 1/4-mile Queen?s Plate and Fort Erie?s 1 3/16-mile Prince of Wales as the final leg of the Triple Crown for Canadian-bred 3-year-olds.

Strait of Dover , who had shown an aversion to dirt in his early races at Hastings and while training in Florida this winter, bypassed the Prince of Wales to train up to the Breeders?.

?If the horse comes back next year, I think he can win a Grade 1,? said Vella, who had sent out Strait of Dover to win the 1 1/16-mile Marine Stakes and a seven-furlong first ?level allowance race in his only other outings this year.

?I think he?s that good.?

Source: Daily Racing Form

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Too many races for top thoroughbreds makes for a watered down racing product

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OCEANPORT ? They drew the post positions for the Haskell Invitational, a Grade I, $1-million race in the high-profile 3-year-old division, and all they came up with were six horses.

And it?s not like there was a superstar lurking to scare everyone away, what with Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner I?ll Have Another and Belmont winner Union Rags retired due to injuries.

Instead of quality races among the top thoroughbreds on the track, there?s senseless competition between various jurisdictions within the region, and the ones who get hurt are the fans.

?If you want to showcase good racing, you?re going to have to eliminate competition for the athletes,?? said Bob Kulina, president of Darby Development, now operating Monmouth Park in New Jersey.

?How many sports do you hear them say have over expanded? The level of play isn?t good anymore. We?re a sport and we?ve probably over expanded ? at the end of the day the game is suffering.??

The upcoming eight-day period highlights how ridiculous the situation has become.

They are running the Curlin Stakes for 3-year-olds at Saratoga today. On Saturday it?s the Grade II $600,000 Jim Dandy, with Alpha, winner of the Grade III Withers Stakes, going against a field that includes Teeth of the Dog and Kelly Breen?s My Adonis, winner of the traditional Haskell prep, the Long Branch Stakes.

Sunday?s Haskell had Paynter, second in the Belmont, Dullahan, winner of the Blue Grass Stakes and third in the Kentucky Derby, and Gemologist, unbeaten until failing badly at the Kentucky Derby, as the top contenders.

At next Saturday?s Grade II, $750,000 West Virginia Derby, Hansen, last year?s 2-year-old champion, will run against a soft field with the lure of a $150,000 bonus for being a Grade I winner, which would make his first place check equal to the $600,000 top prize in the Haskell.

So instead of one centerpiece for the industry, you have three watered-down events.

?You would think that the states would get it together and form a Mid-Atlantic cooperative where we vary the stakes between the states to make sure we have plenty of horses for races like the Haskell,?? said Dennis Drazin, an advisor to Darby Development. ?So instead of one 12-horse field and a great race for the whole country, you have horses trying to duck other horses, trying to go to the best spot for them. For some reason, people don?t want to run these days unless they?re 4-to-5 or even money, trying to pick the spot that?s perfect for them rather than making it a better product.??

And it?s not just the feature races.

Penn National has put up a $200,000 race this weekend to compete with the $150,000 Taylor Made Matchmaker, a Grade III race on the Haskell undercard, and each race will get around seven horses.

It?s the daily competition for horses at all levels that?s helping to drag the sport down.

Monmouth Park?s not in an advantageous position here, yet another offshoot of the competitive disadvantage they find themselves in without slot machines and gaming. Pennsylvania, Delaware and West Virginia are flush with money for purses from their gambling operations, and have little incentive to cooperate financially.

?If we?re going to showcase racing, and not something else, we have to improve our product,?? said Kulina. ?New York is New York. You take them out of the equation. They?re the leaders in the industry. But if you look at Monmouth, Philadelphia, Delaware, Penn National, Charlestown, I think the schedules are going to have to look more like the 1960s schedule. We led the way in reducing our days and I think other jurisdictions are going to have to do that if they?re paying attention to the product.??

Unless everyone comes to their senses and begins working together for the good of the sport, the horse racing operations will disappear altogether and all that will be left are the casinos.

Source: Asbury Park Press

?Brian Butters Director of Racing Sustainability

BC Horse Racing Industry Management Committee

Source: http://derbybarandgrill.com/railbird/index.php/2012/08/bchrimc-report-2/11132

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