Success of Horse Racing Depends on Slots
The Sport of Kings after World War II lost out when fans embraced other sports such as pro baseball, football and basketball. Then lotteries blossomed around the country, siphoning dollars from tracks.
Enter casino gambling, thanks to flourishing Las Vegas, which has surpassed most vacation spots around the country.
What hurt racing until simulcasting emerged was that if you couldn’t visit the track of your choice, you couldn’t wager unless you went the bookie route. Now there’s online wagering and betting by phone. Simulcasting rescued tracks fighting to survive.
Slot machines are picking up where simulcasting left off. A case in point, Louisiana tracks that have them are doing much better than Texas tracks that don’t. That’s because purses for racing climbs as revenue from video slots rolls in.
Texas lawmakers this year refused to act on a bill to allow a statewide vote that would allow slots at horse and dog tracks around the state. Proponents vow to continue the fight because they say the future of Texas racing is at stake.
But the road to slots in some states is not without potholes. For example, Gulfstream Park in South Florida looked like it would benefit when voters in Broward County approved a referendum.
But the Florida Legislature adjourned in May after the House and Senate passed dramatically different bills. Those differences weren’t reconciled and, to make matters worse, there are no plans for a special session this year.
This prompted Gulfstream, two dog tracks and a jai-alai fronton to sue the state in Broward to clarify if they are authorized to operate slot machines. Meanwhile, gambling opponents several days earlier in Tallahassee asked a trial judge to rule that the pari-mutuels cannot start offering slot machines without an enabling law from the Legislature.
The Broward referendum that passed in March required the Legislature to OK a bill by July 1. Gov. Jeb Bush and Florida’s Native-American tribes, many of which operate casinos in the state, opposed the referendum.
Quite a few tracks have been resurrected because the machines attract gamblers and common folks.
A case in point: Louisiana tracks that have them are doing much better than Texas tracks that don’t. In fact, other neighboring states such as Oklahoma and New Mexico are attracting Texas horse owners, trainers and jockeys as well as Lone Star State residents looking for action.
Since slots were introduced at New Mexico tracks in 1999, horse breeding operations have soared to record numbers, fueling big increases in employment and salaries in all areas of its racing industry. The opposite is true of Texas.
For instance, Retama Park, a horse track in Greater San Antonio, is having a difficult time since the 9/11 tragedy. From ’95 to ’00, on-track mutuel handle for quarter horses and thoroughbreds climbed steadily. Simulcasting wagering also rose.
But it hasn’t always been a bed of roses. The track cancelled the last two weeks of its ’95 quarter-horse meeting because operating funds evaporated. “Wagering was way less than projections,” said Retama general manager Robert Pollock, a former horse owner and trainer who became a steward that year.
Despite Retama Park filing for Chapter 9 bankruptcy on March 20, 1996, purses were boosted for the second season and wagering increased. On Feb. 13, 1997, a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge signed an order confirming the city’s reorganization and funding plan for the track. On March 26, it emerged from bankruptcy and less than six weeks later the track launched the third season.
Enter Bryan Brown, named chief executive officer on July 10, 1997. “The best asset Retama Park has is Bryan,” said Pollock, who earlier that year was named general manager. “He has business sense and an easy going manner. He’s a great guy. Our strong suit is a really good management team. We put together the right people – that’s why we’re doing so good businesswise.”
Then all became rosy, Brown said, “The quality of the horses continues to improve — that means better racing for the fans. To be able to offer $100,000 in purses is also a major step for us. When we first started talking about it a few years ago, we thought it would take until 2002 to reach those numbers.”
“We have increased our wagering and attendance every year since 1997,” Brown said. “The bottom line: Continue to improve. We’ve restructured the debt. Cutting costs isn’t always the answer. You can’t do business cutting costs to the bone.”
However, decreasing revenue in the last several years hurt, Pollock said. “Slot would help immensely.”
The track is named for a green-limbed, small tree or shrub, native to Texas, which can grow to 35 feet. Branches contain needle-sharp thorns — adorned by fragrant flowers with bright yellow petals. It has the reputation of being attractive and aggressive – plus hard to get rid of.
It appears Retama Park is aptly named. Promotional events such as 50-Cent Nights, the brainstorm of publicity/marketing director Doug Vair, were launched in ’97 to keep patrons coming back during both meetings.
Fifty-Cent Fridays and Saturdays include free admission. Hotdogs, soda and programs are 50 cents. There’s also $1 draft beer and free activities for kids featuring pony rides, a petting zoo, face painting and clowns.
Texas racing, however, is at a crossroads. Promotions won’t bring horsemen back to race for lesser purses than neighboring states. But slots would.
