Odds On Racing - Harness Racing

Corzine Wins Casino Commitment

October 20, 2007

A week before New Jersey hosts the richest horse race in America, Gov. Jon Corzine has won a commitment from casino owners to continue a subsidy of the state's foundering racing industry.

Just how much of a commitment, however, remains to be seen.

Corzine would like to provide horse racing $90 million over the next three years to boost the purses at racetracks. On Monday, he received an initial pledge from casino owners for a third of that total, according to an administration official with direct knowledge of the negotiations who asked not to be named because they are ongoing.

"We met with them and said the facts of life are that we will continue the subsidy for the next three or four years," the official said. "Obviously they are going to step up to the plate."

Corzine wants the casinos to pay even more, the official said, but he is also exploring "other options" to raise the remaining amount.

Casinos have contributed $21.5 million a year the past four years to fatten the handle at racetracks, a total of $86 million. In exchange, the racetrack operators agreed not to install slot machines or video lottery terminals at the Meadowlands and other racing venues.

Joseph Corbo Jr., president of the Casino Association of New Jersey, confirmed casino representatives met this week in Atlantic City with Gary Rose, who heads the governor's office of economic growth, and other members of the administration.

"We had a preliminary meeting with the governor's office to discuss the ways that casinos may play a part in assisting the horse-racing industry," Corbo said. "No consensus was reached."

The Monday meeting with the casino officials came three days after Corzine and Commissioner of Agriculture Charles Kuperus met with horse owners, lobbyists and legislators at Drumthwacket, the governor's official residence in Princeton. Corzine convened that meeting in an effort to reassure the owners and breeders, said Leon Zimmerman, a lobbyist for horse owners and breeders. During the meeting, he pledged to deliver the subsidy within three or four weeks.