slots/racing: what do you think?

[flarenuphope]

I'm doing a senior research paper (i need to do it to graduate) about the impact of slots on horse racing (both harness & tb). I need several sources, and one of them is a "primary" source, which means talking/writing to a person. So i thought i should ask y'all on this take. How do you think the slots will impact the racing industry?
Does anyone on here work at the race track/ own race horses? Hows the conditions of the tracks here to that of WV and DE?

Also if yall come across any nice sources that you think would help, i would greatly appreciate it!
Thanks in advance!!!

Flarenuphope@yahoo.com

 

[covekat]

Slots are pretty much a necessary if racing is going to be at any sort of decent level here in Maryland. Right now purses are lower here in Maryland than they are in WV and Delaware, and dont forget Pa, they now have slots and are going to have HUGE purses in the near future...

The bigger outfits in Maryland have already started to leave, or split their horses between Md and Delaware, or Charlestown (WV)... without the horses it's hard for MD to fill races, races that are light are not really attractive to gamblers, which is where most of the purse money comes from.

Slots will come to Maryland, where is the question... it looks like they will go in near Arundel Mills for now, but MD tracks will still get a percent of the slots revenue no matter where they are (it's part of the bill). For now it's too late for harness racing, Rosecroft has stopped live racing for the next 5 yrs... they still hold trials there, but no live racing.

It's very hard for a trainer to convince an owner to keep running their horses in Maryland when purses at nearby tracks offer upwards of 30% more... the costs are the same (training bills, vets, jock fee's, etc). Unless trainers are willing to move and can get stalls at another track, many trainers will be going out of business.

The way the purse structure in Md is set up now, a lower level claimer ($5000) has to win every time they run, which in most cases is once a month, just to cover their expenses (which never happens)... so to stay competitive, yes, slots need to become a reality to keep horses in Maryland. There is also a lot of competition from neighboring states when it comes to breeder incentives.. but that is a whole other topic!

 

[flarenuphope]

Slots are pretty much a necessary if racing is going to be at any sort of decent level here in Maryland. Right now purses are lower here in Maryland than they are in WV and Delaware, and dont forget Pa, they now have slots and are going to have HUGE purses in the near future...

The bigger outfits in Maryland have already started to leave, or split their horses between Md and Delaware, or Charlestown (WV)... without the horses it's hard for MD to fill races, races that are light are not really attractive to gamblers, which is where most of the purse money comes from.

Slots will come to Maryland, where is the question... it looks like they will go in near Arundel Mills for now, but MD tracks will still get a percent of the slots revenue no matter where they are (it's part of the bill). For now it's too late for harness racing, Rosecroft has stopped live racing for the next 5 yrs... they still hold trials there, but no live racing.

It's very hard for a trainer to convince an owner to keep running their horses in Maryland when purses at nearby tracks offer upwards of 30% more... the costs are the same (training bills, vets, jock fee's, etc). Unless trainers are willing to move and can get stalls at another track, many trainers will be going out of business.

The way the purse structure in Md is set up now, a lower level claimer ($5000) has to win every time they run, which in most cases is once a month, just to cover their expenses (which never happens)... so to stay competitive, yes, slots need to become a reality to keep horses in Maryland. There is also a lot of competition from neighboring states when it comes to breeder incentives.. but that is a whole other topic!

Awsome, this is exactly what i needed!Thank you! A good part of my paper talks about purses and the breeders funds. For citation purposes, could you PM your name? Otherwise i guess i can make up a name,lol.

 

[Eventer29]

My sister rides at Bowie. Some of the trainers she has talked to/rides for are considering moving out of state. They dont think that the slots in Arundle Mills will help enough. One even said something like they believe MD racing will be No more in about 2 weeks. Not sure exactly why they say that.

 

[covekat]

Maryland has their racing dates, so they will run untill those expire, and I'm sure they will get dates for next year. Actually the spot at AA looks pretty good, and Maryland will get a percent of the slot handle, so all is not lost yet.


Still wont be enough to compete with out of state purses, although it depends on how much they bring in... but WV, De, and Pa get a much bigger cut.


Here is part of an article about it:

Regardless of where machines are, Maryland's horse-racing industry and track owners stand to benefit. Seven percent of proceeds are earmarked to enhance racing purses and breeder operations. An additional 2.5 percent is set aside for "renewal" grants to private tracks.