“Senator calls for horse racing inquiry” plus 3 more

Senator calls for horse racing inquiry
Calls to end NJ casinos' $30M horse tracks subsidy
NJ senator: End casinos' $30M horse tracks subsidy
Whelan: End Casinos' $30M Subsidy Of Horse Tracks

Posted: 27 May 2010 02:55 PM PDT

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - I-Team 8 has discovered a state senator's call for a state investigation into Indiana's Horse Racing Industry.

That request comes after what the senator calls persistent rumors of illegal activities.

I-Team 8 obtained a copy of a letter Senator Luke Kenley wrote to the Sarah McNaught, the chairman of the Indiana Horse Racing Commission. The IHRC is the government body that oversees the state's racing industry and all the money wagered on it.

The letter follows an April meeting Senator Luke Kenley had with McNaught and a group of concerned horsemen. In letter, Kenley requested the commission examine several requests. A State Board of Accounts audit on all the money horse tracks get as a subsidy from Indiana's casinos, a review of the purse structure for next year, and for Indiana State Police to investigate "persistent rumors of illegal activities."

Here's how the paragraph reads:

"Integrity through the industry is critical. This is a primary function of the Commission. Without confidence that we are squeaky clean, we could jeopardize everything with the public and the legislature. As I informed you, I have asked the Superintendent of the State Police to investigate persistent rumors of illegal activities. We need to put this behind us."

But whether a state police investigation on horse racing has left the starting gate or already crossed the finish line is unknown.

Indiana State Police spokesperson First Sgt. Dave Bursten would only provide a single five word statement.

"There is no ongoing investigation," said First Sgt. Bursten. When I-Team 8 asked to confirm Senator Kenley requested an investigation, Bursten repeated, "The only information I have is that there is no ongoing investigation."

Senator Kenley clarified what he wanted investigated.

"(In) some element of racing, particularly standardbred racing, there was a question as to whether there was a fix involved in some racing that was going on," said Senator Kenley.

I-Team sources inside the horse racing industry say the rumors of illegal activity go beyond race fixing, in which a number of people conspire to influence outcomes. The allegations also include ghost ownership of horses by commission officials and improper wagering by commission officials at both of Indiana's tracks.

Sen. Kenley says it's critical to find out what's actually happening.

"It's very important because this is a state subsidized industry and we've tried to build it up as an agribusiness, and it's very important that it be maintained as a clean legitimate business and that was my concern," he said.

We requested an interview with Joe Gorajec, the Executive Director of the Horse Racing Commission and told him what we'd been hearing. He said he'd call back. He didn't.

I-Team 8 will continue to follow up on any new information in this investigation. The original intent of the meeting Kenley had with the Commission chair and the horsemen was to exchange ideas on how the commission could help make horse racing in Indiana, a bigger player in the national picture by encouraging bigger payouts and more breed development in the state.

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

Posted: 25 May 2010 10:38 AM PDT

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