The Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association, one of the best organized and strongest in the United States, is kicking off a campaign to defeat the four-city casino proposal that will appear as Issue 3 on the state’s November ballot

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The project gets underway on Saturday night at Northfield Park, which is presenting the Ohio Night of Champions, when a meeting of horsemen will be held in the paddock prior to post time.

The OHHA also will distribute campaign literature in the grandstand urging fans to vote against Issue 3. Jerry Knappenberger, general manager of the OHHA, says the campaign is urgent because horsemen’s way of life is threatened by the big casino interests behind Issue 3, which would put casinos in Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Toledo.

Mark Robinson, OHHA’s campaign director for 'Vote No on 3' is calling for funding of the effort to defeat the proposal next month. The governor of Ohio, Ted Strickland, faced with the loss of almost a billion in prospective income from the state’s seven tracks by a state supreme court order mandating a referendum, is proposing postponement of a 4.2% tax reduction.

The state also reportedly is returning the $700,000 in application fees paid by the tracks, and the $26 million posted by Northfield Park and Raceway Park for gaming licenses.

The earliest referendum on the slots-at-tracks issue now is November, 2010, and should Issue 3 win next month that proposition could come to naught. If it does, Ohio racing will be treading in very deep water, with its slots-at-tracks salvation frozen solid and all but abandoned for at least a year.

(Harness Tracks of America)