Posted: 30 May 2010 10:30 AM PDT

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What has been overlooked in the general debate is that the goalposts from when the levy contributed £115 million in 2008 to now have not been moved. The bookmakers paid up 10 per cent of their profits then, and they still do so. What has happened is that the punters have been betting less on racing, and got less bad at it. In short, because they have not been losing so much, racing is receiving dramatically less.

There are areas where the law of the land should close loop holes.

Any bookmaker, for instance, which takes bets on British horse racing, but does not pay levy because they are based offshore, should not be allowed to advertise or market their business in any way in Britain.

Nor should they be allowed to take bets on websites from this country without facing the wrath of customs and excise should they step foot on our soil. This is achievable. Betfair, it should be noted, have stopped taking bets from France on their racing.

What racing should not do, however, is waste the concentration span of politicians by sending them on a wild-goose chase. It has been mooted in the past that the bookmakers should contribute some of their profits from amusement machines in betting shops to racing; the theory being that punters were only in the shops in the first place because of racing. This is unjustifiable nonsense. The Chinese lads that I watch in betting shops pouring their money into these machines don't even look up from them when the Grand National is run. They are not there for the horse racing.

It is not good to see less money available for prize money. But more does not necessarily make a sport richer and less does not have to diminish it. On the whole people do not own racehorses so that they can win prize money. They want to live a dream. They want to feel the adrenalin rush of watching their horse win. They want to go to special places and feel they are a central part of the action. What racing must do is invest in its specialness. It must hang onto the aspirational smell of the sport.

If the Derby or the Grand National had their prize money halved, would the stature of the races suffer? As far as international prize money league tables go, we have fallen way off the top a long time ago; and yet our racing has probably never been better. Because we have more than just money. We have integrity, class and we have passion. And we are blessed with beautiful racecourses. Horse racing in this country has a lot more to offer than money.

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Calls to end NJ casinos' $30M horse tracks subsidy

Posted: 25 May 2010 10:38 AM PDT

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ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) -- The bad blood between New Jersey's horse racing tracks and its casinos escalated Tuesday when two state senators who support the casinos proposed ending the $30 million annual subsidy that the casinos provide to help keep the tracks alive.

Sen. James Whelan, a former mayor of Atlantic City, said the subsidy should end, even if it means the end of horse racing in New Jersey.

"That's what happens in a capitalist society," said Whelan, a Democrat from Atlantic County. "If there's no demand for a product, why should we as an industry and as a society feel obligated to prop it up?"

Whelan made his comments during the opening remarks at the East Coast Gaming Congress, a casino industry gathering in Atlantic City.

Later in the day, state Senate President Stephen Sweeney echoed those comments.

"There's a commitment in New jersey not to tear this place apart," Sweeney said. "Race tracks have to be able to stand on their own. The casinos have made an enormous investment here, billions and billions of dollars.

"I don't think casinos should be spending $30 million on horse racing," he said. "They should be spending it on promoting casinos."

In recent years, race tracks and casinos have been fighting each other for a dwindling pot of money from gamblers. The tracks say they can't survive without a subsidy from the nearly $4 billion Atlantic City casino industry, and also want the right to install slot machines at race tracks.

That's something the casinos adamantly oppose, and something Sweeney vowed not to allow a vote on.

Thomas F. Luchento, president of the Standardbred Breeders & Owners Association of New Jersey, blasted Whelan's proposal.

"What they want to do is to try and stomp out the horse racing business," he said. "As soon as we were done for, they'd move right up there. It's clear that if we weren't in their way, they would move in."

He said horse racing is a $1 billion-a-year industry in New Jersey.

"How can you turn down a $1 billion a year?" he asked. "I understand that the average guy in Newark doesn't care whether there is horse racing in New Jersey. But he does care that his property tax goes down."

Luchento said earlier this year that racing's share of state gambling tax revenue in New Jersey has decreased from 81 percent to 1 percent since casinos were first allowed in 1978.

Casinos have subsidized New Jersey's tracks since 2004 to help them provide the same kind of purses now being offered in neighboring states by tracks equipped with racinos, an industry term combining racing and casinos, to describe a race track that has slot machines. The higher purses are needed to attract the best horses and jockeys.

The total amount of the subsidy through 2011 is estimated at $176 million.

The racing industry has about 2,050 employees and generates about $31 million in annual state and local taxes, according to a 2007 study by Rutgers University.

Whelan said he is waiting for the recommendations of a panel appointed by Gov. Chris Christie to study the state's gambling industry. A spokesman for the governor said the report is due at the end of June.

"Until then, legislation aimed at protecting turf seems a bit premature," he said. "Our goal is to come up with a comprehensive approach that considers the future use of all of New Jersey's entertainment assets."

Associated Press writer Aaron Morrison in Trenton contributed to this report.

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NJ senator: End casinos' $30M horse tracks subsidy

Posted: 25 May 2010 09:11 AM PDT