FLORENCE - Dockside gambling is running the track down. Fewer dollars bet on simulcast racing caused a drain on the final numbers of Turfway Park's recently ended fall meet.

        Track president Bob Elliston blames the decrease on continued competition from Indiana's riverboat casinos, which have experienced increases in business since dockside gaming began in August.

        During the 22-day meet that ended Thursday, on-track betting - the money bet on live races - was basically even compared to last year at about $7.8 million. But betting on simulcasting - the races broadcast in Turfway's Race Book facility - fell by nearly 10 percent.

        Overall, total betting dropped by 5 percent from $71 million last year to $67.5 million this year, according to numbers released Friday by Turfway.

        “Considering the severe competition that Turfway faces, we view having on-track handle numbers about equal to last year's as a good thing,” Mr. Elliston said Friday.

        Since riverboat casinos opened in southern Indiana in 1996, Turfway's business has dropped by about 50 percent, Mr. Elliston said.

        But riverboats took a step toward garnering more business with the dockside gambling that began in August.

        All three casinos near Northern Kentucky experienced gains in gaming revenue between July and August:

        • Argosy Casino, Lawrenceburg, $30.1 million in July and $35.7 million in August.

        • Grand Victoria Casino, Rising Sun, $11.8 million in July and $12.9 million in August.

        • Belterra Casino, Switzerland County, $10.4 million in July and $11.3 million in August.

        Turfway and other thoroughbred tracks in Kentucky failed this year in trying to persuade state lawmakers to allow tracks to offer video gambling as a way to compete with the riverboats.

        Mr. Elliston said the tracks would renew the effort when the legislature begins meeting in January.

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