Odds On Racing - Harness Racing

Fairmount Dispute leads to IRB Ousting

March 18, 2010

The House voted Wednesday to oust Illinois Racing Board Members over a dispute involving the state's lone Downstate track.

A bill sponsored by Rep. Jay Hoffman (D-Collinsville), whose southern Illinois district is home to Fairmount Park, would remove the 11 members of the Illinois Racing Board and require Gov. Quinn to either reappoint them or find replacements. Hoffman said the board overstepped its bounds when it only allotted three racing days to Fairmount instead of 52, effectively threatening to lay off 1,000 workers.

Hoffman said the move was part of an effort to force an unfair tax increase on the track. Hoffman's bill would summarily end the terms of the 11 current unpaid board members, letting Gov. Pat Quinn replace them. The bill passed 89-24. It now moves to the Senate.

"For whatever reason, this year they made the determination that as a condition of this one race track that the state Legislature would have to raise the taxes on the race track or, for all practical purposes, it would be closed," Hoffman said.

However, Marc Laino, executive director for the Illinois Racing Board, disputed allegations that the board was using its power to set racing dates to leverage an unreasonable tax increase on the track in the General Assembly. Instead, Laino said the board was merely asking for conditions to be met so it could afford to keep the park open.

"Recognizing financial crisis, the board was faced with a decision," Laino said. "I thought it was fiscally responsible in using all the financial resources to award days even when it wasn't fiscally feasible."

Laino said Fairmount pays fewer taxes than the four other racetracks and the board can no longer justify the disproportional amount of funds it receives. The park, which is expected to post a net loss of $620,000 to the state in 2010, is the only Illinois thoroughbred track projected to lose money this year.

A bill making its way through the Senate would increase the pari-mutuel tax on Fairmount from 0.5 percent to 0.75 percent, which is still half what the other parks pay. If it passes, all 52 racing days will be restored.

"There are insufficient funds for this industry going forward. The industry no longer supports the cost of its operation. We're limited in our resources," Laino said.

But Hoffman insists that the board was out of line and needs to be replaced.

"In order to make sure that next year the workers at Fairmount Race Track don't have to worry about unreasonable conditions being placed on their employment, I saw no other choice than to move this bill