The Future of New Jersey’s Horse racing industry
New Jersey is the state in the middle-Atlantic region of the United States. Along with few other sectors, New Jersey's economy is centred on the Agricultural sector. One of the major agricultural outputs in New Jersey is Horses.
The horse has been the state’s animal for 30 years, and New Jersey boasts the country's premier harness and thoroughbred racing at the Meadowlands Racetrack.
Meadowlands Racetrack is one of the three major horse racing tracks in the state. It is commonly known as "The Big M" in the region. The Economy experts say that New Jersey's horse industry is now in jeopardy due to a steady decline in the fan base for horse racing and growing competition from racetracks in neighbouring states with slot machines.
In recent years, the Meadowlands Racetrack has become a money-losing drain on the state of New Jersey which now threatens its survival. The 142nd running of the Belmont Stakes takes place on Saturday, but there is no superstar horse to follow. The Kentucky Derby and Preakness winners are sitting this race out. It is a major problem for a once popular industry.
If you go back to the early 1970s, the Horse racing business was one of the high rated and most flourishing businesses. The tracks were jammed with people because there were no other kinds of gambling going on around in the state. Once the Off-Track Betting started in 1971, it affected badly the attendance at the track.
Charles Hayward, the President and the Chief Operating Officer of the New York Racing Association said a few words in the past glory of horse racing, "You are just never going to get that kind of dynamic back, unfortunately, and the attention and the knowledge and the fan base just eroded ".
"This is our critical year," said Mary Jo Herbert, a racehorse owner and breeder who is also the president of the State Board of Agriculture. "We are all afraid that we're going to lose our racing business and our horse farms".
Now the question arises, how this problem could be fixed? The followers of this equestrian sport have an answer to this one. They think that casinos should be built and the slots or video lottery terminals should be put at the racetracks. This technique has already been followed by the Pennsylvania and Delaware.
Horse racing needs casino revenues to exist. Making casinos is one of the best possible options, because in many areas there would be no casinos without the horses. But the major hindrance is that New York has not been able to grant a casino license for New York Racing Association's tracks.
The sport of horse racing has become dependent so much on gambling and wagering. Gambling has become a major component in municipal budgeting and fiscal management. It was actually the government who steadily accepted the Off Track Betting and revenues. Unfortunately, this resulted in the down fall of the horse racing business and helped to create an atmosphere in New York that has nearly killed the economic spirit of this business.
Talking about the purse in the races, "You can't keep a track competitive without a good purse for the race winners”, said Herbert a racehorse owner and president of the State Board of Agriculture. Delaware and Pennsylvania have a well established racing industry now, but it is being driven by casino dollars and the money generated from gambling not the horses. This could be because these regions do not have the kind of appetite to compete the races that are held here.
Another report was issued this month by the Governor of the state with solutions to the financial problems of the state’s racing industry. The suggestions which were made included the possibility of closing Meadowlands Racetrack and drastically reducing the number of racing days at Monmouth Park.
About this report, Michael Drewniak, a spokesman for an operating authority said “We know that the frankness of that report would have raised fears with certain interested groups and constituencies. In a sense, we’re glad that happened because if it wasn’t clear to everyone that these are the realities, it should be clear now”.
The thoroughbred horse racing industry is reeling all over the world. There is less interest in the ponies. It is not just in New York or New Jersey. There is too much betting around whether it is playing a state lottery in a 7-11 or in New York, or even playing keno while waiting for a slice of pizza. Other states have turned to more gambling options at racetracks to bolster ailing sport. However nothing beats the thrill of horseracing.
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