Dramatic cuts to Indiana's horse racing industry could be on the horizon as Gov. Mitch Daniels recently proposed a redirection of slot machine revenue that would drop funding by almost half
.
As the state looks to fill a budget deficit, the proposal calls for 43 per cent of the state's slot revenue generated from Hoosier Park and Indiana Downs to be transferred to the Indiana's general fund. That redirection would take approximately $21 million from what is currently funneled to the state's thoroughbred and harness racing programs.
“Everyone in the racing industry knew that there was certainly a possibility of a reduction in the horsemen’s share of slots revenue,” Joe Gorajec, executive director of the Indiana Horse Racing Commission, told the Daily Racing Form. “This is a very fiscally conservative state, and the economy being what it is and the state budget being what it is, there’s tightening going on wherever you look.”
According to harnessracing.com, the projections would have standardbred purses dropped by $3.3 million at Hoosier and $2.1 million at Indiana Downs, with breed development funds also substantially cut by a total of more than $3 million.
I say we recruit Ralph Klein
I say we recruit Ralph Klein into Ont. politics right away; at least he can buy us some time until we figure out how to become self sufficient. He will help run all the riff raff out of town too.
Ms. Heald, Believe it or
Ms. Heald,
Believe it or not, the majority of people expressing their opinions and giving bleak facts, however dire, are ON YOUR SIDE. They say these things because they want everyone in the game to prosper, and try as they may (with few exceptions), they can't seem to get their concerns through to the horsemen and racetrack managements. Keep ignoring the vocal majority that speaks out here, and the silent majority that has abandoned your game, and Indiana will soon have some more company. Slot subsidies are a short-term solution, and horsepeople are at the mercy of the politicians that hold the reins. Do you really believe that they will continue to subsidize an industry that a majority of voters look at with indifference or outright scorn?
We're falling off that 20-story building and as we pass each window and people at each floor ask us "How's it going?", we continue to answer, "So far so good". But that sidewalk is coming up at us quicker than you think!
If only the racing industry
If only the racing industry had been warned that this was sure to happen then they could have changed their business model and survived and likely prospered. Oh right they were thousands of times!!
Never said you didn't count,
Never said you didn't count, any ones job or income matters. What i did say and i stand by it, is it will affect only a tiny percentage of the overall population and like it or not that's a fact. Besides it shouldn't be me that you are upset with, you should be upset with the decision makers in the race game such as race track managers for failing to do there job, allowing other forms of gambling to take away there customer base and keep the next generation of gamblers all to themselves. They won't compete for business period and we should feel sorry for them because they are getting punished for there inability to adapt to today's competitive gaming environment. Point the finger of blame where it belongs and perhaps race track managers will start taking some responsibility for where the race game is today.
When somebody says a tiny
When somebody says a tiny percentage of the population involved in horse racing, I guess they don't think about the big picture, it isn't just trainers,owners or racetracks, there are grooms, blacksmiths, feed suppliers, vets, tack shops, their suppliers and manufacturers, farmers that grow the hay and oats, their help and families, breeders, their help and families, a whole sector of the agriculture industry is affected, but hey none of us count. Isn't that essentially what you are implying?
This shows how vulnerable
This shows how vulnerable the horse racing industry is when you race every day to empty grandstands and you're betting handle has been decreasing year in and year out for the last 30 years. Moreover, politicians that are now experiencing dwindling state revenues want a bigger piece of the slot revenue pie at the expense of racetracks. Just like Governor Christie in New Jersey, sooner or later they are going to figure out why do we need to subsidize horse racing in the first place when we can have ALL the slot revenues to ourselves. It happened in Pennsylvania and New Jersey its happening in Indiana and don't be surprised if it happens in Ontario one day soon. When you have a business model like horse racing that can't stand on its two feet and is propped up by slot subsidies it is just a matter of time before they get taken away and the whole house of cards cams crashing to its end. This scenario is playing out slowly but surely in every racing jurisdiction today.
As the race game fades more
As the race game fades more and more into the sunset becoming less relevant with each passing day because of a lack of foresight and a lack of sound management skills by people running the tracks, slot revenue being taken away from the tracks and being directed elsewhere is going to become a fact of life. It is something the race game can come to expect. When will this industry get over there sense of entitlement and start to understand that if they don't start to do what it takes to stay relevant they will disappear. You can only stay a welfare industry for so long before the plug is pulled and at the end of the day only the tiny percentage of people directly involved in the race game will care, it will matter little to the public at large. Just think back to when the once thriving blue bonnets disappeared, how much did the general public in montreal care, it went without a whimper.