Voices of gloom are heard in the land.
Peter Carlino, whose Penn National Gaming is the biggest success
story of the racing and gambling year, told investors and analysts last
week that supporting cheap horses with inflated purses, as slots at
tracks have been doing, is not his business plan and that he is not
running a public charity.
Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels is proposing to cut the purses at the
state’s two tracks by more than half, which would have a huge impact on
the countless horsemen who have flocked to Hoosier Park and Indiana
Downs as the new Shangri-Las of racing.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, soaking up the casino sunshine as the
hero of Atlantic City, still says no to the Meadowlands and the
sure-fire success that a casino-owned gaming operation there could
assure for both the casinos and the racetrack and pledges $251 million
to finish the stalled Revel hotel and casino, a private enterprise,
raising questions in leading newspapers both in New Jersey and
Pennsylvania as to why the revelry.
The Boston Herald runs a big story over the internal strife at
Suffolk Downs between management and horsemen, under a headline reading,
“Suffolk jobs may be in peril over simulcast dispute.” The president of
the track’s union, representing 184 workers, calls the fight
“deplorable and patently unfair.” Oregon adds its voice to those barring
simulcasts from Suffolk.
Read More