FORT MITCHELL — The boats are beating the tracks.

        The thoroughbred industry needs state help to even the odds to survive increased competition and the recent blow dealt by mare reproductive loss syndrome.

        Officials from Kentucky's premier thoroughbred racetracks Tuesday painted a dismal picture of the sport's future at a public informational hearing conducted by the Kentucky Racing Commission.

        “We are facing some of the biggest challenges in our history,” Churchill Downs president and general manager Alex Waldrop told members of the commission during the special meeting at the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce.

        Mr. Waldrop and Turfway Park president Bob Elliston had similar tales of woe regarding a steady decline in revenues at the two thoroughbred tracks since 1996, when the gambling boats opened for business on the Indiana banks of the Ohio River.

        Kentucky Racing Commission Chairman Frank Shoop, Vice Chairman Frank Jones, Commissioner Wayne Carlisle and commission Executive Director/Chief Steward Bernie Hettel spent two hours hearing from a variety of voices on subjects including the need for improvements at Kentucky race tracks, competition from gaming in neighboring states, and the impact of the mare reproductive loss syndrome (MRLS).

Churchill v. Caesars

        Churchill Downs, undoubtedly the best-known racetrack in the world as home to the Kentucky Derby, was compared in several categories to the Caesars floating casino located across the Ohio River from Louisville, including:

        • Attendance (1999): Caesars, 4,553,679; Churchill Downs, 924,944.

        • Total wagered (1999): Caesars, $2,262,205,034; Churchill Downs, $130,401,187.

        • Total win/takeout (1999): Caesars, $184,518,520; Churchill Downs, $23,396,451.

        • Capital investment (1997-2000): Caesars, $430 million; Churchill Downs, $25 million.

        “In 2000, the total gross for the four riverboat casinos operating on the Ohio River in Indiana was about $13 billion,” Mr. Waldrop said. “The total handle (gross) for all thoroughbred tracks in the U.S. was about $15 billion.”

        Mr. Elliston pointed out that Turfway Park's on-track handle — money actually bet at the track — declined 43 percent from 1996 to 2000. Purses have decreased 24 percent in the same period.

State asked for help

        Both track officers emphasized that the Kentucky racing industry is threatened also by stronger competition from racetracks in Ohio, West Virginia, Indiana and Delaware, and by a heavy burden of taxes and fees from the state.

        “We must have assistance from the state and this racing commission,” Mr. Waldrop said. “And the (racing) industry must work together and come up with creative solutions. If not, there is a real question about the future of Kentucky horse racing.”

Foal losses

        David Switzer, executive director of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association, said the loss of the foals from MRLS was not only was a tremendous blow to the Kentucky breeding stock, but it affected other industries closely tied to horse racing.

        “There are about 18,000 mares in central Kentucky each year to be bred, many from other parts of the country, and some are shipped back to those farms after breeding,” he said. “A lot of mares may be taken elsewhere for breeding if breeders aren't certain about conditions in Kentucky.”

        Mr. Switzer said the negative financial impact on Kentucky breeders would probably be about $350 million because of lost foals.

        Mr. Shoop, the commission chairman, said the commissioners were conducting the meeting here and two more in Bowling Green Aug. 7 and Louisville Aug. 29 to obtain as much information as possible.

        “We're not looking for solutions from these meetings,” he said. “This is the first step toward finding solutions.”

        State Rep. Jim Callahan (D-Wilder) told the gathering that the General Assembly is ready to listen and assist the horse industry, but it must be a concerted effort.

        “This has been a real eye-opener for me,” he said of the information presented at the meeting.

        “I think if other legislators see this same information, they will be inclined to look more closely at ways to help horse racing in Kentucky.”
       

Slots at the track?

        The Kentucky House leader asked horse racing executives if they were willing to try video gambling machines at their tracks.

        Floating casinos on the Ohio River, which some blame for falling track attendance and wagering, aren't going away, Mr. Callahan said.

        Other states incorporated video gaming into horse racing, Mr. Waldrop said. But it is too early for Kentucky racing executives to make specific proposals for the 2002 General Assembly.

        Some horsemen were less reserved.

        “If you don't put alternative gaming in, we are becoming a second-class (racing) state,” LaRue Simpson, a northern Kentucky horse breeder, told the commission.

        Mr. Simpson said he will start racing horses at Mountaineer Park in West Virginia, which has video gambling and can offer larger purses.

        Steve Tippett, a thoroughbred trainer from Dry Ridge, said Kentucky has delayed too long and needs to “get in the game” by offering video gambling at tracks.

       The Associated Press contributed to this report.
       
       

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