Posted: 21 Dec 2010 07:37 AM PST

Horse-racing bills advance to full Assembly

Potential new revenue stream for purses at Monmouth Park, Meadowlands

BY DAN HOWLEY Staff Writer

Alegislative package aimed at keeping the horse-racing industry at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford and Monmouth Park in the borough afloat has advanced to the state Assembly.

The bills, which were approved and moved forward by the Assembly Regulatory Oversight and Gaming Committee, call for the creation of new revenue opportunities, which lawmakers hope will eliminate the racing industry's reliance on state subsidies.

"This is certainly going to help us develop the beginning of what we hope will be a revenue stream that … will keep New Jersey racing alive," said John Forbes, president of the West Long Branch-based New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association.

Monmouth Park racetrack is designed for use by thoroughbred racers only.

"We think that these are good measures that can contribute to some revenue stream for purses, which is essential," he added.

One of the bills, A-3498, approved by the full Assembly on Dec. 13, authorizes Internet wagering by residents of eligible United States jurisdictions on in-state horse races.

According to Sen. Jennifer Beck (R-12th District), the legislation will have a "substantial impact [on Monmouth Park]." Beck was a sponsor of the Senate's version of the off-track wagering legislation.

"The biggest issue horse racing has is that its product isn't distributed well," Beck said. "In other words, if you want to wager on a horse race, you … need to go to the track or a casino. And so you don't have a lot of opportunities to participate in horse racing.

"Off-track wagering [is] a way to raise a lot of revenue for the industry and indeed will lead to it being self-supporting. So that bill in particular is really critical to the industry and its future frankly," Beck said.

The legislation still awaiting approval by the full Assembly includes the following bills that were passed by the Assembly Regulatory Oversight and Gaming Committee. If the Assembly speaker posts them, they

will go to the full Assembly for approval.

• Assembly bill ACR-167, which allows for wagering at Atlantic City casinos and

horse racetracks on sporting events.

• Assembly bill A-2570, which authorizes Internet wagering at Atlantic City casinos by state residents and persons located out of the country. A portion of the revenue generated through the Internet wagering will be allocated to the New Jersey Racing Commission for the benefit of the racing industry. That appropriation will lapse after

one year.

• Assembly bill A-3200, which permits racetrack permit holders to provide a single pari-mutuel pool for each running or harness horse race run

• Assembly bill A-3531, which dedicates revenue derived from sales tax to provide incentives for the breeding and development

of certain racehorses in the state.

Forbes said he welcomes the bills that provide the racing industry with new revenue streams; however, he is on edge about the bill allowing sports betting at casinos

and racetracks.

"The sports betting issue seems to be something that the casino industry is interested in nationally, because they are, of course, at war with each other from state to state.

"It's direct competition for the gaming dollar, and if racing receives a piece of that, then that would be good for racing. But if racing doesn't receive any revenue stream from a sports-betting scenario, … it would

negatively impact us," Forbes said.

Of particular interest to Forbes is a portion of the legislation that authorizes exchange wagering, which allows bettors to bet against each other on the outcome of a

particular race at fixed odds.

"We have seen the [exchange wager] model work well in Europe," Forbes explained. "It's a little bit of a mixed bag because we are not able to make a decent projection of what kind of revenue stream

it will produce.

"Exchange wagering," Forbes said, "is a little different in that the money doesn't go into a huge pool. It's a variant of parimutuel racing, but it is basically individual

against individual."

Monmouth Park currently offers parimutuel wagering, which allows bettors to

bet against each other in a pool.

The new legislation permits racetracks to provide a single pari-mutuel pool for

each race run.

However, while the legislation could help the racing industry, Forbes said, it does

little to address one of its main problems.

"The essence of our issue is that casino gaming in New Jersey has devastated the

racing industry," Forbes said.

"When [neighboring states] have legalized casino gaming, they have made sure that their racing industries receive a revenue stream, so that casino gaming and racing …

would survive," he explained.

"Those legislators recognized that the racing industry in those states was a vital industry."

Yet, Forbes said he is still thankful that the Legislature has begun looking into possible ways to save the state's racing industry.

"Suffice it to say, we appreciate that the Legislature is cognizant of the fact that the racing industry is an over $1 billion industry, economic impact-wise to the state," he

said.

"Racing pays the state somewhere around $160 million of tax money … and since the state through the Sports and Exposition Authority runs racing, they have a shortfall in the operation of the sports authority.

"But to do away with racing would lose the state $160 million of tax revenue," Forbes said.

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No agreement reached on horse racing schedule in Maryland

Posted: 21 Dec 2010 05:37 PM PST

The future of live thoroughbred racing in Maryland - including the Preakness Stakes -is in jeopardy again after a state commission on Tuesday rejected a proposed racing schedule contingent on conditions that horse owners and breeders refused to accept.

That means the Laurel Park racetrack could close its doors Jan. 1 unless a last-minute deal is reached between the horsemen and owners of the Maryland Jockey Club, which operates Laurel Park and Pimlico Race Course.

Pimlico, in Baltimore, doesn't run races until the spring, when it puts on the Preakness, the second leg of racing's Triple Crown and the state's largest single sporting event.

Prospects for agreement appeared dim after a three-hour meeting marked by testy exchanges. Top executives of the corporate parents of the Jockey Club attended, along with hundreds of horse owners, breeders, trainers and racetrack employees.

Maryland Racing Commission members chastised the executives and questioned their commitment to racing in Maryland.

"You have antagonized everyone in the state, and you are continuing in your arrogant ways," commission member John McDaniel told executives with casino operator Penn National Gaming, a minority owner of the Jockey Club.

Frank Stronach, chairman and chief executive of MI Developments, pleaded with the horsemen to agree to the conditions, which included giving up some revenue, and he urged the commission to support the track owners' proposal. MI Developments, a Canadian real estate company, is the majority owner of the Jockey Club.

"We alone cannot fix it. We have to fix it together," Stronach said. "The model is broken, not just in Maryland but across America."

The track owners and racing industry representatives were unable to agree on a schedule that would ensure that the Jockey Club would at least break even after years of losses and maintain year-round racing for the thousands of workers in the industry.

Some commissioners expressed hope that the track owners would come back with another proposal, but Penn National spokesman Eric Schippers said the latest proposal was "summarily rejected by both the horse industry and the commission." The commission's opposition was unanimous. "It makes it very difficult to understand where we go from here," Schippers said.

Despite weeks of nonstop talks - some brokered by Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) - the two sides remained far apart when the meeting began Tuesday. Soon after it ended, O'Malley issued a statement expressing disappointment that the parties couldn't reach a deal.

"I would encourage the track owners, industry representatives, and horsemen and breeders to return to the table and reach an agreement that protects the jobs that depend on our rich history of racing in Maryland," O'Malley said in the statement.

MI Developments and Penn National offered to maintain 146 days of live racing next year, the same number as this year. But their proposal came with major conditions, including: that horse owners, trainers and breeders contribute $1.7 million in operating expenses for the tracks, give up simulcast rights to broadcast races, support the closing of a training center in Bowie and lobby to increase the price of betting on races. The latter two require legislative changes.

Maryland Racing Commission rejects horse-racing proposal

Posted: 21 Dec 2010 02:45 PM PST

The future of live thoroughbred racing in Maryland — along with the Preakness Stakes —is in jeopardy once again after a state commission on Tuesday rejected a proposed racing schedule contingent on several conditions that horse owners and breeders refused to accept.

That means the Laurel Park racetrack could close its doors Jan. 1 unless a last-minute deal is reached between the horsemen and owners of the Maryland Jockey Club, which operates the tracks. Pimlico Race Course doesn't traditionally run races until the spring, when it puts on the Preakness, the second leg of racing Triple's Crown and the state's largest single sporting event.

But prospects for accord appeared dim after a three-hour meeting that featured testy exchanges. Top executives from the corporate parents of the Jockey Club attended, along with hundreds of horse owners, breeders, trainers and racetrack employees. Maryland Racing Commission members chastised the executives and questioned their commitment to racing here.

"You have antagonized everyone in the state, and you are continuing in your arrogant ways," commissioner John McDaniel told executives with casino operator Penn National Gaming, a minority owner of the Jockey Club.

Racing magnate Frank Stronach, chairman and chief executive of MI Developments, pleaded with the horsemen to agree to the conditions, which included giving up some revenue, and urged the commission to support the track owners' proposal. MI Developments, a Canadian real estate company, is the majority owner of the Jockey Club.

"We alone cannot fix it. We have to fix it together," Stronach said. "The model is broken, not just in Maryland but across America."

MI Developments and Penn National and horse-racing industry representatives were unable to agree on a schedule that would ensure that the Jockey Club would at least break even after years of losses and maintain year-round racing for the thousands of workers in the industry.

Though some commissioners expressed hope that the track owners would come back with another proposal, Penn National spokesman Eric Schippers noted that their latest proposal was "summarily rejected by both the horse industry and the commission." The commission's opposition was unanimous.

"It makes it very difficult to understand where we go from here, given the summary rejection of what we thought was a fair, equitable proposal," Schippers said.

Despite weeks of nonstop talks — some brokered by Gov. Martin O'Malley — the two sides remained far apart when the meeting began Tuesday. Soon after it ended, O'Malley issued a statement expressing disappointment that the parties couldn't reach a deal.

The governor indicated that this office is "prepared to aggressively protect the state's interests, as we did two years ago when presented with the threat of losing Maryland's treasured Preakness Stakes."

That's when the General Assembly passed a law granting the state authority to seize the Preakness, which contributes an estimated $40 million to the economy, as well as Laurel Park and Pimlico in the wake of the bankruptcy of Magna Entertainment Corp., which then owned the Jockey Club.

MI Developments and Penn National offered to maintain 146 days of live racing next year — the same number as this year — but their proposal came with major caveats.

Among the conditions: that the horse owners, trainers and breeders contribute $1.7 million in operating expenses for the tracks, give up their rights to broadcast race signals, support the closing of a training center in Bowie and lobby to increase the price that consumers pay to bet on races. The latter two require legislative changes.

While the horsemen and breeders agreed to make the $1.7 million payment, contingent on running a 146-day schedule, they fiercely opposed relinquishing their simulcast rights and raising betting prices. And the group said they would support closing Bowie only if the Jockey Club replaced the training center's 650 stalls at Laurel Park and Pimlico.

The Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association and the Maryland Horse Breeders Association also strongly criticized a provision that would allow the Jockey Club to end live racing before the end of 2011 if the operations continued to lose money — even with the horsemen's financial help and if legislative changes are successful.

"This agreement is an insult to Maryland racing," said Alan Foreman, attorney for horsemen's association. "This ownership has brought Maryland racing to virtual ruin here."

The commission's decision puts the state's racing industry — which has seen purses and wagering decline over the years amid growing competition from casinos in neighboring states — closer to a demise than ever before.

Horse Racing

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

“Horse-racing bills advance to full Assembly” plus 2 more

“Horse-racing bills advance to full Assembly” plus 2 more

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