The sport has had a nice run with slot machines, those gizmos that
have fattened purses, made a lot of owners a lot of money and kept a
dozen or so racetracks from closing. But the good times are about to
end, and a lot sooner than you might have thought.
A system -- broke state governments allowing tens of millions in slots
revenue to go to horse racing -- that could never last is starting to
crumble. The first few weeks of 2011 have included some very ominous
news for the slots-racing relationship and the future of horse racing.
It started in Indiana, where Governor Mitch Daniels blindsided the
Thoroughbred and Standardbred industries last month when issuing a
budget proposal that called for 43 percent of the slots money that was
going to racing to instead go to the state's general fund. The budget
must still go through several channels before being enacted and it can
be changed after other state lawmakers are heard from, but industry
sources said they were not confident there would be major changes
forthcoming when it came to racing. With the vast majority of purse
monies in Indiana coming from slots, Daniels' proposal could devastate
the industry in the Hoosier State.
Indiana has long been the envy of other states, particularly slots-free
Kentucky. Hoosier Park and Indiana Downs grew from minor-league
racetracks to places offering top purses and stakes races that could
attract the likes of Thoroughbred champion Lookin at Lucky. Once
Daniels' axe is wielded, Indiana racing will likely be back to where it
started and people who invested heavily in farms and breeding operations
there will take a huge financial hit.
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