BY GREGORY A. HALL
The Cincinnati Enquirer
FLORENCE -- Turfway Park officials see hope in the mixed results from the thoroughbred track's recent fall meet.
Betting on races at the Florence track during the 23-day meet that concluded Oct. 9 fell 5.3 percent from the year before. The bright spot is a slowdown in the huge drop that was seen when Indiana's riverboat casinos opened and Ohio's wagering expanded.
The next step, officials at the Northern Kentucky track say, is to get wagering to increase.
"We're going to try to do everything we can for that to happen," Turfway spokesman Robert Forbeck said Tuesday.
Attendance fell 10.3 percent to 49,817 for this year's fall meet.
A total of $79,401,521 was bet during Turfway's fall meet compared with $83,819,512 the year before. Betting by patrons at the track fell 4.5 percent, while betting at other Kentucky locations fell 0.9 percent.
The 4.5 percent fall in on-track betting looks small in comparison with the 25 percent drop from the 1996 to 1997 fall meets. Indiana's riverboat casinos at Rising Sun and Lawrenceburg both started in 1996, as did Ohio racetracks' ability to let patrons bet on every race at various tracks across the country.
"I think the days of seeing a 25 percent decrease," Mr. Forbeck said, "those days are done."
The biggest decrease for Turfway's fall meet was in out-of-state wagering, a drop of 8.6 percent. That statistic is particularly important to racetracks across the country as simulcasting of races to tracks in other states is increasingly relied on for growth in revenue.
Mr. Forbeck said Turfway's 8.6 percent drop in that category was due to fewer horses in the track's races, in part because of Indiana's riverboat casinos. A percentage of every casino admission goes toward horse racing purses in the Hoosier state.
That means the Indiana track, Hoosier Park, can offer higher purses to attract horses that otherwise would race at Turfway, he said.
"The riverboats are giving us a double whammy during that time" when both Hoosier Park and Turfway race, Mr. Forbeck said. "Not only are we in direct competition for fans, we're also in direct competition for horses."
Smaller fields tend to mean smaller payoffs for bettors, who because of that would bet races at other tracks.
If statistics from racing at Kentucky Downs, the southwest Kentucky track now managed by Turfway, are included, Turfway's numbers are up.
Kentucky Downs, the Franklin track featuring only turf racing, conducted its first meet in three years during September. Its seven-day meet coincided with racing at Turfway, competing for betting dollars and some horses.
"We knew running the Kentucky Downs races with Turfway's would create a shift of betting opportunities to Kentucky Downs," Turfway President Mark Simendinger said.
The $85,560,723 bet on both Turfway and Kentucky Downs races is up 2.1 percent from what Turfway alone did the previous year. In-state wagering for both tracks combined increased 3.6 percent over what Turfway did alone the year before. Out-of-state betting increased 2.7 percent over the same time.
