Anybody in Pa know the score here?

Joltman · Postby **Joltman** » Fri Oct 09, 2009 3:09 pm

http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/ ... source=rss

I suspect it was only a matter of time before the politicos seized the pot of gold. In terms of the proposed plan to siphon the funds, how bad is it for the Pa industry?

jm

winds · Postby **winds** » Fri Oct 09, 2009 3:34 pm

It's not good. Even if this passes there will be a short fall and who's to say they won't eleminate us altogether..........

winds

Barbaro06 · Postby **Barbaro06** » Fri Oct 09, 2009 5:16 pm

It's either raid the pot of gold and let an industry wither on the vine, raise taxes to balance the budget, or start cutting state services. Guess which one they will go for?

Dave C · Postby **Dave C** » Sat Oct 10, 2009 7:08 am

Barbaro06 wrote:It's either raid the pot of gold and let an industry wither on the vine, raise taxes to balance the budget, or start cutting state services. Guess which one they will go for?

They take the low hanging fruit first, but all the fruit will be picked.

madelyn · Postby **madelyn** » Sat Oct 10, 2009 8:13 am

West Virginia did the same thing, and I think the purses at Mountaineer have subsided back down to the pre-slots level. The problem with creating an income source like slots with arteries to government is that government will eventually bleed it. This is the argument against slots here in KY - that it is a very temporary fix.

Dave C · Postby **Dave C** » Sat Oct 10, 2009 11:05 am

We've had slots here in Alberta for close to 15 years now and I really don't think slots are a temporary fix. What they are is a means of keeping incompetent management in their offices at the racetracks and regulators while they continue alienate owners, breeders, and fans. Racing needs high skill, innovative managers who understand marketing and customer service. What we have are crony's and patronage appointee's, with no skill or talent, either following a playbook written in the 1950's, or with their heads so far up someone else's backside that they think black is white.

If you haven't guessed, the 'slots are our salvation' attitude is a bit of a sore point for me.

Joltman · Postby **Joltman** » Sat Oct 10, 2009 6:09 pm

madelyn wrote:West Virginia did the same thing, and I think the purses at Mountaineer have subsided back down to the pre-slots level. The problem with creating an income source like slots with arteries to government is that government will eventually bleed it. This is the argument against slots here in KY - that it is a very temporary fix.

Respectfully disagree Madelyn. Ten yrs ago when I was running at CT the purses were abysmal. Maybe $5000 for bottom claimers. Today they are 2-3x that level. At CT particularly they slots stabilized a bad situation and got the fan base back. Now a mix of slots and intertrack wagering keeps the purses in a good range.

Mnr was going great guns but has hit some hard times with Pa competition and the jury is out there, but still they are way ahead of the time before slots showed up.

jm

Bohemia · Postby **Bohemia** » Mon Oct 12, 2009 7:34 am

The nuts and bolts about how the Pa. breeding program will be affected is now on the PHBA web site, under the News section.

Maureen · Postby **Maureen** » Mon Oct 12, 2009 9:38 am

Dave C wrote:We've had slots here in Alberta for close to 15 years now and I really don't think slots are a temporary fix. What they are is a means of keeping incompetent management in their offices at the racetracks and regulators while they continue alienate owners, breeders, and fans. Racing needs high skill, innovative managers who understand marketing and customer service. What we have are crony's and patronage appointee's, with no skill or talent, either following a playbook written in the 1950's, or with their heads so far up someone else's backside that they think black is white.

If you haven't guessed, the 'slots are our salvation' attitude is a bit of a sore point for me.

Are you sure you aren't living in Ontario, and racing at Fort Erie? :wink:

griff · Postby **griff** » Tue Oct 13, 2009 6:44 am

Purses at Charles Town are better than the purses at Laurel or Mountaineer.. MSW run $28k and $10k claimers run $17k

Mountaineer purses are less than CT but they are paying a 135% breeder/owner bonus for WVBRERDs which certainly brings them up to par

Charles Town will vote on table gambling next month and if it passes things will get even better.

griff

tinners way · Postby **tinners way** » Tue Oct 13, 2009 8:09 pm

Slots will always be a temporary fix. Arthur Hancock seems to be the only one that has a set to speak up and not just try and take the easy money while it lasts, and then cry wolf again. The industry as a whole has to figure out that "its the horse stupid". Do I want slots in Texas, absolutely, but what I really want is account wagering and OTB. Those dollars are connected to the activity of horse racing, and those arteries flow back to the horse, horsemen, and breeders. The government will be hesitant to take those dollars if they no if they do the horses go away.

Dave C · Postby **Dave C** » Wed Oct 14, 2009 7:24 am

Maureen wrote:Are you sure you aren't living in Ontario, and racing at Fort Erie?

That's part of the culture that has developed in horse racing across NA, regardless of how ownership of the tracks is structured: that any idiot can be a racing secretary or manage a racetrack or market horse racing.