Horse Racing News: Governor Christie to stop state funding for New Jersey's horse racing
Horse racing in the state of New Jersey is trying its best to rescue Atlantic City gambling but horse racing is going to lose in the end. The saga began almost a week ago when New Jersey Governor Chris Christie had unveiled short-term economic measures in order to reign in the states sprawling budgetary deficit. According to that plan, the state would no longer support horse racing in the region. The industry would either have to privatize and find buyers for the Meadowlands Racecourse along with support the Monmouth Park. Otherwise, closing down would be the only option.
Nearly $30 million in annual subsidies that have been extracted from New Jersey casinos are being used to back up the purses for horse racing that would be discontinued if the plan goes through. Governor Christie said that horse racing failures in New Jersey would no longer be subsidized by state revenue in the days to come.
New Jersey has been struggling to compete with horse racing in neighboring states. While legislation in New Jersey to legalize gambling at racetracks has thus far failed, neighboring states have been beefing up their purses with gambling revenues and attracting larger fields and more crowds. New Jersey has been unable to survive on that and without state funding; the plan would most probably seal the industry for ever.
Tom Luchento, the head of the Standardbred Breeders and Owners Association added weight to those concerns when he said that horsemen, breeders, jockeys and trainers would be leaving New Jersey “in caravans” for neighboring states.
Out of all the darkness, someone has finally come to New Jersey’s aide. Senator Ray Lesniak has been fighting for the survival of casinos and has vowed to save horse racing in the state as well. Ray was not at all pleased with the plan that Governor Christie had approved for horse racing in the state. In his criticism of the plan, he somehow stopped short of calling it as cowardly. “Hanson's report basically sells the Meadowlands and Monmouth Park down the drain,” Ray said.
Ray has his own slightly optimistic plan and he thinks he can save horse racing. He is expected to present his proposal to the state’s gaming summit to be held on August the 6th. It’s believed that Ray wants to introduce statewide internet gaming and channel funds generated from it to raise racing purses. If the plan goes through without too many hiccups, significant funds could indeed be generated. "We're looking at $50 million - possibly into the hundreds of millions," Ray said.
If that happens, the privatization of Meadowland Racecourse and Monmouth Park would become realistic. Presently, the tracks are losing money and no private group is interested in saving them out of the financial downturn. With money being generated from gambling, racing revenues at the tracks could raise purses to competitive levels which will be at par with neighboring states. Horse racing in New Jersey could be saved.
It’s all good in theory at the moment. The fact that the state Senate’s budget committee has asked for a more detailed plan about the future of Monmouth and Meadowlands before it takes a closer look at recommendations for Atlantic City helps Senator Ray Lesniak’s designs. The budget committee’s chairman, Senator Paul Sarlo criticized the plan for ruling out the possibility of gambling outside the Atlantic City. Governor Christie has stringently opposed slots on racetracks, something that industry insiders believe could rescue racing.
Senator Sarlo said that gambling and horse racing were both important economic engines for the state and should be accorded comparable considerations. He alleged that Governor Christie was treating racing as “some ignored stepchild for the Atlantic City” and that the Hanson plan did not have a plan for the state owned racetrack’s futures.
The picture is as hazy as ever. The governor and his supporters are adamant that they would not pour more of the states money into racing and Senator Sarlo and Lesniak, among others, aren’t willing to give up just yet. A long, twisted and thorny road lies ahead for lawmakers on both sides of the horse racing divide.
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