Starting at the top, Arkansas’ pari-mutuel industry was spotlighted at Wednesday’s luncheon kicking off the Association of Racing Commissioners International’s 84th annual Conference on Equine Welfare and Racing Integrity at the Hotel Hot Springs.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson lauded Oaklawn Park; the track’s influential owner Charles Cella, who died in December, was remembered, and Cecil Alexander, who spent 24 years on the Arkansas State Racing Commission, most as chairman before stepping down two years ago at age 80, was presented the "William May" Award, the ARCI’s highest award and which recognizes an individual or entity that has had a profound positive effect on racing and racing integrity.
Governor of Kentucky Asa Hutchinson presents Cecil Alexander with the William May Award
The conference attendees also heard state of the industry updates from leaders of pari-mutuel racing’s four major groups.
Hutchinson said that, behind agriculture, Arkansas’ No. 2 industry is tourism, for which he said travel-related expenses in the state have increased 32 percent the last five years.
“The venues of Oaklawn and Southland are two historic venues providing premium racing for our state,” he said, referencing the 114-year-old thoroughbred track and Southland Park Gaming and Racing greyhound track in West Memphis. “We’re proud of it and we protect it and want to make sure (they) are the premium venues for racing in our country. They are success stories. Oaklawn is the top commercial tourist attraction in Arkansas, with 2.8 million visitors last year, 1,500 employees during racing season, a $250 million economic impact for the state of Arkansas.”
Hutchinson then acknowledged “the incredible work of Cecil Alexander” and his varying careers as a restaureur, in real estate and as vice president of governmental affairs from 1980-2000. The governor said the futures of Oaklawn and Southland were in great jeopardy when Alexander joined the Arkansas State Racing Commission in 1993.
“He oversaw a resurgence in both Oaklawn and Southland,” Hutchinson said. “Cecil used every legislative trick in the book to get it done. From ‘Instant Racing’ he was able to get installed, to games of skill being passed through the legislature that reinvigorated Oaklawn and Southland, he has made a difference in our racing environment and success of racing in Arkansas every step of the way.”
Hutchinson planned to go with daughter Sarah to Oaklawn that afternoon, joking, “You can’t give me any tips, but feel to help Sarah out. She’ll keep it very confidential.”
In the remembrance of Cella, ARCI chief executive officer Ed Martin said, “We lost one of the greats of racing this past year when Charles Cella passed away. The Cella family has meant much to racing, not only here in Arkansas but everywhere. Challenges put out and the product put out week after week is second to none. We’re just sorry that we can’t stay for the Arkansas Derby.”
Louis Cella, who took over as the Oaklawn Jockey Club’s president after his father’s death Dec. 6, said that while the track dates to 1904 “our renaissance really started with my father. For 50 years he maintained a single goal: aim high strive to be the best.
“It took more than just a sportsman; it took a team,” he said. “That team included government, commissioners, horsemen, the 1,500 loyal employees that by the way equates to one employee for every stall we have on the backstretch. Because of this team effort, today we’re allowed to offer open maidens for more than $80,000, allowance races as high as $85,000. We typically have 20,000 people in the grandstands. Two weeks ago on our Rebel (stakes day) we had nearly 40,000 and next week at our Derby we’ll have maybe 60,000, 70,000. As the governor said, we’re the largest commercial tourism attraction in the state, making Hot Springs the top tourist destination of the state.
“When you’re in a smaller location a little bit off the beaten path, you have to work harder and be creative to survive.”
Louis Cella said the Arkansas racing commission was instrumental when Oaklawn offered the first merged-pool interstate simulcast wagering in 1990 when the track took Arlington Park’s full card. As casino boats on the Mississippi River flooded Oaklawn’s market, “It staggered us, but we knew we had to do something to survive.”
Under Alexander’s regulatory leadership, Oaklawn invented Instant Racing, also known as historical horse racing — an electronic pari-mutuel wagering product utilizing hundreds of thousands of previously run races.
“We didn’t know if it would work, but we knew if we didn’t try something, we would not make it,” Cella said. “From its inception in 2000, Instant Racing turned us around.... Suddenly we were picking ourselves up off the canvas and getting back in the game. Working with the commission and the (horsemen), we believed we developed the best racing model for racing and gaming, just as my father had hoped for.”
He said the Oaklawn Foundation channels millions of dollars into Hot Spring for college scholarships, educational programs and initiatives for senior citizens.
“Oaklawn has gone from trying to fill races to becoming one of the leading, brightest lights in racing,” Cella said. “This could not have been without people like Gov. Hutchinson, like our racing commission, our horsemen and breeders, our loyal fans and so many others who have a stake and care about how Oaklawn operates. By working together, setting aside agendas, there isn’t any question we are continuing to do what my father set out to do 50 years ago: aim high, do it right and be the best.”
Updates on pari-mutuel racing’s four major groups
USTA’s Tanner: ‘Never been a better time to own a standardbred racehorse’
Mike Tanner, executive vice president of the United States Trotting Association, said the standardbred industry’s status largely mirrors those of thoroughbred racing but on a smaller scale. He said his membership is holding steady at about 15,800, down from 1986 when it approached 50,000.
“We were slightly down in handle last year, about four percent,” said Tanner, who started out in thoroughbred racing. “We handled about $1.4 billion. We were flat in terms of per-race handle. But the number of races were down, number of race days were down, owing to foal-crop size. Purses were very strong, up two percent. We gave away $432 million in purses last year.
“I go around the country telling people there’s never been a better time to own a standardbred racehorse, and it’s the truth. The financial incentives are quite generous. Our costs of training are relatively-speaking lower (than thoroughbreds), our horses race more frequently and it’s a hands-on sport as well. When I was a kid I wanted to be a jockey. Genetics and my love of food obviously conspired against me. However, I can and am able to hop on a race bike to help train standardbreds. It’s a great breed.”
Tanner said the breed is creating the Standardbred Transition Alliance, similar to the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance to guarantee care for retired racehorses. The proposal is pursuing a $1 per-start fee paid by owners, which would have reaped more than $330,000 starts last year, and a $1 fee on every transaction processed by the USTA, which would have raised $110,000 last year.
NTRA’s Waldrop: ‘Nothing more important to future than investing in facilities’
Alex Waldrop, president and CEO of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, reported on thoroughbred racing’s recent successes with betting and purses up in 2017; the explosive rise of online and account betting; the victory in getting the Treasury Department to adopt modernized regulations regarding the withholding and reporting of pari-mutuel proceeds, allowing horseplayers to keep more of their winnings; increasing popularity of the big-event days; robust sales at the top end at horse auctions, and new programs and favorable tax policy for horse owners.
“Our big race days are at an all-time high, no question,” Waldrop said, including the Breeders’ Cup bringing on new host sites Keeneland and Del Mar and Gulfstream Park creating the $16 million Pegasus World Cup. “The popularity of these big events has led most of our big tracks — NYRA, Churchill Downs, the Stronach Group, Oaklawn Park — to invest millions of dollars in their facilities. I think nothing is more important to the future of the thoroughbred industry than the reinvestment of dollars in our facilities. We need convenient, state-of-the-art facilities if we’re going to compete in this very challenging sports entertainment environment.”
But Waldrop said challenges include the vastly-shrunk foal crop, horse auctions’ middle and lower market and the potential added competition of sports betting.
“You don’t really have a horse shortage; you have an owner shortage,” he said. “We do need new owners. We have programs in place to do that.... On multiple fronts, we’re working to addresses public concerns about safety and welfare. We’re looking to find new homes and second careers for off-track thoroughbreds... The past decade there’s been a commitment to improving the safety of human and equine athletes, and it’s starting to show significant results.
“Even with many challenges, thoroughbred racing is alive and well today, and we’re very optimistic that it will remain so for many years to come.”
AQHA’s VanBebber: Breed-specific rules boost move toward uniformity
Jane VanBebber, the chief racing officer for the American Quarter Horse Association, said the sprint breed is making great strides toward uniformity of regulations among states, giving a shout-out to ARCI having breed-specific model rules that allow the quarter horse industry to address issues that aren’t as problematic in the other racing breeds.
“Several of our jurisdictions have made plenty of improvements this year,” VanBebber said. “We are invigorated by new ownership at Ruidoso Downs, with a partnership of gentlemen who have been very involved in quarter horse racing and are very committed to our sport. We have different jurisdictions that have enjoyed growth. Wyoming just boasted $1.7 million in breeders awards in their state, much due in part to historical horse racing. Colorado in 2017 offered fewer quarter-horse races at Arapaho Park. They found they missed us, and in 2018 they brought back all the races.
“Oklahoma just kicked off their Meeting of Champions and had the first futurity where every entrant into the race was hair-tested as a condition of entry. Between the Futurity and Derby there were roughly 170 horses tested and only three positives and those were from the Derby, in three-year-olds that had competed in a jurisdiction that allowed a level of Clenbuterol.
“So we feel the work we’re doing enhancing integrity in that area through hair testing is proving a very viable alternative. Talking about the anti-doping, all jurisdictions are coming on board with uniformity... thanks in part to the breed-specific rules passed here last year. I’m really proud of that for our association, because we can use that as a tool to combat some of the problems that are specific to quarter-horse racing.”
She said reduced racing opportunities are a concern, along with funding and sponsorship support and the issue of “program” trainers, where a horse might in reality be trained by someone not listed in the official entries.
“I’m real pleased that the good outweighs the bad,” VanBebber said. “I think the future is bright for quarter-horse racing.”
National Greyhound Association’s Ward: ‘We battle to survive on a daily basis'
Julie Ward, president of the National Greyhound Association, gave props to Arkansas’ Southland Park Gaming and Racing in West Memphis for its purses, promotion of the sport and quality and care of the animals. But said the sport of greyhound racing is under siege.
“The greyhound business is in a constant battle with the animal-rights activists, unfortunately with some racetracks and state legislators,” Ward said. “So we battle to survive on a daily basis. We try to stay positive internally, to stay upbeat, and we do. We’re able to show that through the quality and care of the animals. But we’re under a lot of pressure and scrutiny.
“We still feel our product is very viable... Several auctions have reached $1 million of sales. But what is going on down in Florida right now is going to be a big factor in where our industry goes. There is an amendment trying, by animal-rights activists, to let the general public be able to vote to get rid of greyhound racing and simulcasting. It is very scary... Greyhound racing has been around since the pharaohs, and we would love for it to continue and be a part of this. We’re just going through a big battle and we need everyone’s support.”
(ARCI)