One of my very first posts (2013) was on the corporate welfare propping up NY Racing. It has, alas, been a largely under-reported part of the horseracing story. But that’s beginning to change. Thank you, USA Today, for this devastating…
A recent Fox Business article reports that a third player has emerged in the quest to bring Thoroughbred racing back to Massachusetts. (When Suffolk Downs closed in June, it left the whole of New England without a single Thoroughbred track.)…
The following is being sent to every Pennsylvania legislator in the newly-convened 2019 Pennsylvania General Assembly. Please read and share, and also please consider contacting members on your own. Thank you. I am writing today in the hope that you…
As I’ve frequently written, much of U.S. Horseracing hangs by a thread. The anachronistic “Sport of Kings” can’t compete with its 21st Century rivals – lotteries, full-service casinos, and now, all-sports betting. And so, because they’re losing the (free-market) fight,…
Earlier this month, The Philadelphia Inquirer ran an editorial criticizing the subsidization of the Pennsylvania horseracing industry. Good, yes. Unfortunately, it did not go nearly far enough. So, in the interest of presenting the full picture, I wrote a letter…
From the Daily Racing Form, October 26: “The Pennsylvania Legislature…approved a massive expansion of gambling as part of a $32 billion budget package sent to Gov. Tom Wolf for his signature. The measure does not require new gambling sites to…
Even when this industry is running “sham” races, it can’t help but kill. When reviewing the FOIA documents I recently received from Florida, I came upon a death at a track I had never heard of – Oxford Downs. Turns…
The headline from the June 28 edition of The Legislative Gazette says it all: “Assembly and Senate pass bill to give Vernon Downs a five-year tax break, averts shutdown.” The article goes on to explain that the measure will save…
Highlights from a recent report by the New York State Comptroller’s Office: In October 2011, Resorts World New York City Casino (Resorts) opened adjacent to Aqueduct Racetrack. According to NYRA’s Franchise Agreement (Agreement), a percentage of Resorts’ Video Lottery Terminal…
From the Les Bois Park website: Dear Les Bois Park Fans, As you may be aware, we will be closing our Turf Club Bar & Grill and Simulcast Facility, effective end of day on Sunday, March 20th. After being granted…
Fact: If not for the corporate welfare it receives in the form of slots revenue, much of American racing would collapse. Particularly hard hit would be the harness end. Currently, there are 14 harness tracks in NY, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.…
Monday is one of America’s two lightest racing days, with only a handful of tracks live. Now with that as background, consider what happened yesterday: Three horses were ambulanced off at “The Downs Racetrack & Casino” (New Mexico); two at…