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                                   Our latest winners...

      Odds On The Beach won June 21             Odds On Teal won June 27
           at The Poconos in 1:54.2                        at The Poconos in 1:56.1

NJSS Winners at The Big M
AllAmerican Improv was able to edge out the competition with a late rally in the stretch in the first division of the $30,000 New Jersey Sire Stakes Pace for two-year-old Colts and Geldings Thursday night at the Meadowlands.

With John Campbell in the bike, AllAmerican Improv won the first race of the night in 1:51.1. Vintage Master was a neck behind in second.

“We got away a little further back than we had the previous race,” Campbell said. “But I didn’t use him at all the first half and then he was very game to the wire. He is very professional and polished for a two-year-old.”

Owner/trainer Jim Graham, stabled out of Buffalo Raceway, said he was, “happy as he could be” with the colt out of Artiscape-I’m A Jate.

This is AllAmerican Improv’s second win in two lifetime starts. Ronald Viola of Pittsford, NY and David Venniro of Webster, NY also share ownership of AllAmerican Imrov.

In the second division of the New Jersey Sire Stakes Pace, Dial Or Nodial made a late rally to steal the lead and win the night’s fourth race. Brian Sears piloted the son of Western Ideal-Smart Dialing to win in 1:54.4. Champ’s Folly followed a half-length behind.

“He’s a really good horse,” Sears said. “Very impressive in the last quarter for his first start. All of his qualifiers have been in 27 or better. He’s got some real class to him.” Sears said of Dial Or Nodial.

Trainer Jim Campbell was impressed with the colt as well. “He’s shown a lot of speed and it was a really good performance for his first start,” He said.

This is Dial or Nodial’s first win in his first lifetime start for owner’s Arlene and Jules Siegel of New Hope, PA.

In the third division of the $30,000 New Jersey Sire Stakes 2-Year-Old Colts & Geldings Pace, Drop Red and Brian Sears took the fourth race in 1:54.3. Also on the Thursday card were two $40,000 New Jersey Sire Stakes Divisions for two-year-old colt and gelding trotters.

In the first division Homer Jay and David Miller edged out the competition to win the night’s second race in 1:58.4. John Campbell and Vacation Day won the second division, race three in 1:59.

The Road to The Hambletonian
Each week, Ken Warkentin ranks the top contenders for the $1.5 million Hambletonian on Saturday, August 2 at the Meadowlands.

RANK, HORSE, DRIVER, TRAINER, OWNER, KEN WARKENTIN’S COMMENTS
1, DEWEYCHEATUMNHOWE, Ray Schnittker, T. Gewertz,
C. Iannazzo, F. Baldassare, Deweycheatumnhowe Stable, Extended his unbeaten string to 11 winning his sophomore debut in 1:53.3 – his first race in seven months. Schnittker said he was just coasting along. Post 3 in the first Stanley Dancer elimination.

2, MUSCLE MASS, Brian Sears, Erv Miller, Perretti, Blake Horse Racing , Rebounded off a break in his 2008 debut with a methodic, wrapped up rally to beat older foes on June 27 in 1:54.3. Drew post 10 in the first Dancer elimination.

3, SNOW WHITE, John Campbell, Kevin Lare, North State Street St., Harness The Power, Jerry Silva, Rolled into a break in her 2008 debut. John Campbell said she was unsure of herself at the gate and never trotting comfortably. Landed post 9 in the second Del Miller elimination.

4, CELEBRITY SECRET, Tim Tetrick, Staffan Lind, Celebrity Farms, Celebrity Secret Stable, Did not race last week after making it three in a row with another brave finish to take the NJSS Final – a career best of 1:54. Tackles post 8 in the second Dancer elimination.

5, MAKE IT HAPPEN, Ray Schnittker Eat My Dust St., Daisy Acres, H. Taylor, J. Adkins, Stablemate to Deweycheatumnhowe and Empire Breeders Classic winner finished a tight second in the Yonkers Trot. Schnittker said he’ll be a lot better on the mile track.

6, FUEL MY MUSCLES, Dave Miller, Randy Beeckman, Ron, Doug & Jason Allen, Did not race last week after he just missed to Celebrity Secret in the NJSS final with game grind. Leaves from post 3 in the second Dancer elimination.

7, KAJAN KOOKER, Mike Lachance, Ron Gurfein, Meinzinger, Silva, Sampson Street St., Improving son of Self Possessed finished a close third in the NJSS Final and a fast-closing second to Deweycheatumnhowe in the Dickerson Cup. Post 8 in the second Dancer elimination,

8, NAPOLEON, Stephane Bouchard, Noel Daley, Tucci, Korn, Thomases, Guarniere, Capitalized on a late break by favored Holiday Credit to win the Yonkers Trot – a dream come true for five-time Yonkers driving champ Stephane Bouchard.

9, BIG APPLE DELI, John Campbell, John Simpson, Jr., Lon Frocione, Consistent colt finished second in the Empire Breeders Classic and the Yonkers Trot elimination, then third in the Yonkers Trot.

10, CLERK MAGISTRATE, Trevor Ritchie, Per Henriksen, Asa Farm, Did not race the past two weeks after winning his elimination and final of the Goodtimes with miles of 1:54.1 and 1:54. MakesBig M debut from post 4 in the 1st Dancer elim.

Action by Congress Expected
The Congressman who spurred a hearing on equine safety and drug issues believes further action will be required. Representative Ed Whitfield (R-Kentucky), the ranking member on the Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection subcommittee that conducted the June 19 hearing, said federal legislation is a strong possibility at this point.

“It is clear that the 38 different state racing commissions, as well as the numerous other interest groups, are not in a position to protect this industry,” Whitfield said through his press secretary. “Following last month’s hearing, it has become apparent that Congress will no longer allow the status quo.”

Whitfield found some of the testimony to be “riveting,” and noted that it will take some time for Congress to determine its next move. He said in the coming weeks and months, he looks forward to meeting with more industry leaders.

Ed Martin, President of the Association of Racing Commissioners International, a trade association that includes representatives from each racing state’s regulatory body, is concerned that federal oversight could lead to more bureaucracy, and is not sure how such federal regulation would be funded.

A Telling Tale
Editor's Note: This story, entitled Shuttered Stables, was written by Paul Delean of the Montreal Gazette, and originally published on July 1, 2008. A very sad story for harness racing.

Yvon Gilbert gets up every day at 5 a.m. and drives 40 kilometres from his South Shore home in Ste. Julie to the Hippodrome de Montréal where he begins work at 6 a.m. as a groom and assistant trainer of racehorses.

He usually finishes up by noon, but on race nights, he returns for a second shift.
For this punishing schedule, he collects about $400 a week.

The racetrack abruptly ceased live racing because the operator says it can no longer afford to pay purses. And he's one of the lucky ones. Gilbert, 58, has 33 years' experience and happens to work for one of Quebec's most respected horsemen, Jacques Hébert.

He's one of three grooms employed by Hébert. The other two have been with him 20 years.

"What's going to happen to these people?," Hébert said softly as his employees tended to the horses one morning this week.

It's been a week without live racing at Hippodrome de Montréal, the track known in its heyday as Blue Bonnets, now in the hands of a trustee after operator Attractions Hippiques filed for creditor protection after losing millions since it took over from a Quebec-government racing agency two years ago.

Without racing, there are no purses, which means no revenue for horse owners. Already, the consequences of that are being felt. Several of Quebec's top horses already have been trucked to Ontario.

One prominent local stable sent four horses to the abattoir last Friday; they were slow, injured or immature, and they're the first to go when times get tough in the racing business. Most owners will pay $1,200 to $2,000 a month in training fees for a horse only if there's some hope of an eventual return.

For those carrying on, life got a whole lot more complicated. The nearest track offering decent purses is Rideau-Carleton in Ottawa, which means a $150 gasoline bill for a truck pulling a four-horse trailer, plus extra costs for sending employees on the road.

"And you've got to make scheduling adjustments," said trainer Max Bradette. "You can't really ask your people to come in at 6:30 (a.m.) when they get home from Rideau at 3 (a.m.)."

Trainer Marcel Barrieau says shutting down live racing in Montreal affects not only the horsemen.

"There's suppliers, blacksmiths, veterinarians, truck and trailer sellers, truckers, the farms we get hay and grain from. I don't know if the politicians have any idea what's involved. This isn't a small industry. It's millions of dollars."

Veterinarian Claude Forget, who's been working with racehorses for 25 years, says he'll move if necessary. "I do racehorses, not saddle horses. I'll follow my clients. But for a lot of these grooms, this is all they have, all they know. They're not easily retrainable."

Barrieau, 61, says he's "too old to move," but he may not have a choice.

Trustee RSM Richter says the barn area at Hippodrome de Montréal will be closed, forcing horsemen like Barrieau and Hébert to find alternate accommodation for their horses.

Hébert, 66., a hall-of-fame horseman who has been based at the track virtually his entire career, says he may just disperse his 13-horse stable and pack it in instead.

"These have been the worst few days of my life. I don't know what tomorrow holds, honestly. I never in my life thought I'd see this in Montreal. Suddenly, after 101 years, no live racing. Montreal is closed while the small tracks (In Trois-Rivières , Quebec City and Gatineau) are open. I don't understand. It's completely ridiculous. Somebody didn't do their job somewhere, that's for sure."

Bradette, 47, calls it "a tragedy."

"People won't appreciate what we had here until it's gone. This racetrack is older than the Montreal Canadiens. For me, growing up, it was the big leagues. This province has produced some of our sport's biggest stars. It should be a point of pride. Racing people work hard and put in so many hours. Yet we're treated like lowlifes."

Bradette said it's clear Loto-Québec was never a true partner for the racing industry, and should be held accountable if it dies.

"Look at the double standard. Intrawest is getting a casino at Mont Tremblant. The only way the government was going to let that happen was if the Ludoplexes (gaming parlors run by Loto-Quebec at the racetracks in Trois-Rivières and Quebec City) didn't work. And guess what? They didn't work. How convenient for Loto-Québec."

Illinois Purses Will Not See An Increase Soon
Illinois horsemen will have to wait for a much-need purse increase while a dispute with Illinois riverboats is resolved.

The Illinois Supreme Court had ruled that legislated purse subsidies paid by the casinos were legal, which freed approximately $70 million that had been held in escrow. Despite the ruling, which came by a 7-0 vote of the justices, the casinos have again filed a lawsuit challenging the verdict. The money will be frozen while another review of the decision is undertaken by the high state court.

The court is in summer recess, and will return in September, although the high panel could elect to act sooner, as early as three weeks from now. The casinos have the option of appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court, which would decide to either review the decision or take no action.

Debate Over Delware Sports Lottery
Two University of Delaware economics professors breathed a collective sigh of relief Tuesday after a bill to institute a sports lottery was not included as a way for the state of Delaware to balance a $217 million budget deficit.

The Senate didn't vote on HB 190 Monday night, the final night of the legislative session. The bill, approved by the House of Representatives in May, would have legalized sports betting in the state.

UD economics professors James Butkiewicz and Bill Latham believe sports betting isn't a cure for the state's financial problems. They released a report last month that said a sports lottery wouldn't bring in more than $3.3 million annually to the state and that the income could be as low as $1 million.

Their report refutes The Governor's Task Force Report, which said that sports betting would add $22.5 million to $30.6 million in revenue to the state in the first year alone.

It also refutes a report released by the state's gaming industry that said sports betting could bring in as much as $71 million to the state.

"If legislators think it's going to be a big revenue source, they're deceiving themselves," Butkiewicz said.

Gov. Ruth Ann Minner has vowed for the past few years to veto any bill legalizing sports betting. But she leaves office after this year and a new governor might not feel the same way, which is why Butkiewicz said the bill might come up again next year.

Rep. Vincent Lofink, R-Caravel Farms, who sponsored the bill, couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday.

The report done by Butkiewicz and Latham was supported by one done by University of Nevada-Reno professor William Eadington, who studied the effects of sports betting in Nevada. There, sports betting made up just 1.3 percent of the $12.8 billion wagered legally in the state in 2007.

The governor's task force report, issued in January, and the gaming industry report base their results on the "crossover effect," in which sports bettors would attract more slots players to Delaware's three racinos -- Delaware Park in Stanton, Dover Downs and Harrington Raceway -- and the sports bettors themselves would play the slots.

That, in turn, would have a multiplier effect on gambling revenues, proponents say.

The task force calls this "indirect slots revenue," and it estimates that it could lead to an extra $23.1 million in slots revenue for the state. That's on top of sports betting revenue that the report estimated at $3.2 million. The potential indirect slots revenue is why the task force insisted that sports betting be allowed only at the three Delaware racinos.

Sports betting, slots appeal to different crowds Butkiewicz and Latham argue that the indirect slots revenue would be negligible at best because sports bettors have little in common with slots players.

Butkiewicz said sports bettors are mostly male, relatively young and see wagering as an analytical challenge. The sports bettor studies trends and injury reports, and scans the Internet and newspapers for any type of edge to help win the bet.

Typical slots players are older, more often female and see the activity merely as entertainment. They don't have the time or the expertise to analyze sporting events, and they don't want to. They see playing slots as a means of entertainment, like going to the movies for a night.

"People who bet on sports or table games don't like slots because it's purely random," Butkiewicz said. "Sports bettors want to know everything -- the injury reports, who's pitching, who's going well, who isn't. They're not playing the slots.

"Are you telling me that a young guy is going to travel to Delaware for sports betting and bring his parents to play the slots?"

Delaware is among four states eligible to have a sports lottery, and the only one east of the Mississippi -- Nevada, Oregon and Montana are the others.

That would give the state an edge over neighboring states that recently legalized slots, like Pennsylvania, or might do so in the near future, like Maryland.

"The challenge for Delaware is to generate revenue from slots," Eadington said. "Now that there is competition, how are you going to recapture that revenue? It's very difficult to do that, especially with only three locations. [A sports lottery] is not going to do it because it doesn't stand up to scrutiny. It appears dead on arrival."

Sports betting could become more of a drain than a draw Eadington said there are 180 sports betting parlors in Nevada. Many of them are lavish, with huge videoscreens spread around, along with other amenities to entice bettors.

It would take a major renovation of each of the three racinos to create a similar experience in Delaware.

In addition, in Nevada, a sports bettor can bet on one particular event. The law mandates that Delaware's sports betting offering would have to be a lottery, which means a bettor would be required to make at least two bets.

That reduces a bettor's chances of winning from 50 percent to 25 percent or less.

Still, sports betting makes up a small percentage of gambling revenues in Nevada, and the "crossover effect" is minimal, Eadington said.

"[Sports betting] is not a major magnet," Eadington said. "It's a red herring because there's no evidence of a crossover. You're coming to Las Vegas on a tourist trip. You may make a sports wager while you're here. But you're not motivated to come to Las Vegas just by a sports wager."

There could be other influences that would detract from sports betting revenue, as well. The horse racing industry is seeing this now. The amount wagered on horse racing has been in decline for the past several years.

The slots have not been able to stop the slide.

"Slots were [legalized] to turn racetracks into casinos," Eadington said. "But as we have seen, it hasn't done a lot for demand for racing."

Then there is the high price of gasoline and the slumping economy. The governor's task force report estimates that 70 percent of visitors to Delaware racinos come from out of state. When the report was done in January, the price of gasoline was significantly less than the current $4 per gallon average.

"The assumption has always been that gambling is recession-proof," Butkiewicz said. "We're finding out that's not the case."

By far, the most popular sports to bet on are the NFL, whose season runs from September to the first weekend in February, and the NCAA Tournament in college basketball, held in March and early April.

No other sport comes close, which led Butkiewicz and Latham to consider sports betting more of a seasonal event.

"The argument is that anything [you can get] is better than nothing," Latham said. "But if they allow sports betting and they're relying on revenue that doesn't come through, it could put a further drain on finances."

NY Senate Shakeup Could Delay Gaming Contract
New York State Senator Joseph L. Bruno's (R-Brunswick) announcement on Monday that he would not seek re-election in November may slow down the process of selecting a gaming operator for the proposed Aqueduct racino, which is slated to have 4,500 video lottery terminals.

State officials have indicated a decision might be coming in the next week or two, but Bissett said he expects this week’s power shift at the state capitol to delay things a bit.

On Tuesday, the Republican-controlled Senate selected a new majority leader, Senator Dean Skelos of Nassau County, Long Island, whose district is close to Belmont Park.

“I’m sure that Senator Skelos wants to take his time and be briefed about it,” said Delaware North Companies President William Bissett of the Aqueduct decision. “I suspect he wants to review it.”

Bissett made his remarks at the New York Gaming Summit, held in Saratoga Springs, New York, on Wednesday. More than 200 gaming industry leaders from around the country attended the conference.

Delaware North Companies, one of three groups competing for the Aqueduct gaming contract, has offered the highest upfront franchise fee, $370-million. Its proposal, however, is the only one that does not include plans for a large-scale hotel-retail-entertainment complex.

“It’s not the way we’re going to build the model,” Bissett said.

Asked how Aqueduct would compete with large casino resorts in Connecticut and Atlantic City, Bissett said, “There are 12-million people within 20 minutes of Aqueduct. I’ll take that opportunity any day.”

Bruno wanted to bring gaming to Belmont, too, less than ten miles away, whose extra revenue is needed to keep New York racing competitive with other states, he said. Bissett, however, said the state should examine how gaming fares at Aqueduct, which will provide a live working model to evaluate, before going ahead at Belmont.

“If you get too far ahead of yourselves, sometimes the market doesn’t produce,” he said. “It’s smart to see what happens before you take a leap of faith.”

Aqueduct will be the second gaming facility in the metropolitan New York area. Yonkers Raceway, a harness track just north of the city, has 5,300 VLTs.

“People will have to make choices,” Bissett said.

Capital Play Inc., partnered with Mohegan Sun casino of Connecticut, and New York-based SL Green Realty Trust, partnered with Hard Rock Entertainment, are also seeking the Aqueduct contract. Capital Play Chief Executive Officer Karl O’Farrell said that he, too, expects delays resulting from the Senate shakeup.

“Dean Skelos will have to be briefed,” he said. “That in itself will cause some kind of delay.”

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