By Cindi Andrews
The Cincinnati Enquirer

LEBANON - On a weekday night at the Lebanon Raceway, two towheaded toddlers press their noses against the glass of the enclosed grandstand. In the paddock across the track, third-generation horsemen - trainers, drivers and others - prepare for the next harness race.

Soon, horses will head to the track, snorting in the 30-degree air, pulling the drivers sitting behind them in small carts.

These scenes have been replayed at the Lebanon Raceway for more than half a century. But attendance has dropped in recent years, and owners want the state to allow slot machines to head off this decline. Otherwise, they fear, racing at the track could disappear in the next two to five years.

Longtime Lebanon Raceway starter Mike Woebkenberg discusses video gambling. | ZOOM |

"Every time you turn around, there's another casino boat in Indiana, another casino reservation in Michigan," says John Carlo, director of mutuels at the track. "We're just missing out."

The Lebanon Raceway is one of seven horse tracks in the state, and one of four harness-racing tracks. River Downs, just east of Cincinnati, has thoroughbred racing.

A bill being debated in the Ohio Senate would allow video gambling at the seven tracks - a move that those in the horse industry say could boost racing in the state. The bill is unlikely to clear both chambers of the General Assembly in the few remaining days of its session, sponsor Sen. Louis Blessing, R-Colerain Township, says, but he expects it to resurface next year.

Attendance down

Veteran track officials and spectators agree attendance has fallen sharply at the track in recent years, as more gambling options have cropped up in neighboring states. There aren't many people in the grandstand on this Tuesday night, other than the young family with the toddlers and some retired couples. Only a few more people are watching simulcast racing on a bank of televisions in another area.

The addition of simulcast racing about six years ago and the track's lean payroll have allowed Lebanon to keep "treading water," says Keith Nixon Jr., attorney for the track that his family runs.

Still, he's not sure how long that can continue. The track is seeking permission from the Ohio State Racing Commission to reduce the number of live races it runs.

Gamblers no longer crowd the enclosed grandstand at Lebanon Raceway. | ZOOM |

The purses - money that goes to winning owners - are as low as $1,200 here. That compares to $6,000 to $20,000 in the state of Delaware, which allows slots at tracks, says trainer Roy Murphy, 53, of Spencerville, Ohio.

"Ohio racing's going down," says Mr. Murphy, who has been bringing horses to Lebanon since 1966. "We need some kind of help."

Jack Dailey, 38, of Jamestown, Ohio, agrees: "It's so hard to make owners money, and without owners this business isn't going anywhere. The cost of living is going up, but the purses aren't."

Without slots, the horse racing industry - which generates $453 million a year for the state economy and employs thousands of people - will have to move to states with slots, says Jerry Knappenberger, general manager of the Ohio Harness Horsemen's Association.

Horses are one of the few agricultural products not subsidized by the government, notes John Pawlak, spokesman for the U.S. Trotting Association. Further, Ohio is the nation's No. 1 producer of Standardbred horses - the type used in harness racing.

Mixed feelings on slots

Sen. Blessing's bill would instruct the Ohio Lottery to put video lottery terminals - or slot machines - at the state's tracks. Proposals to expand gambling have not gotten very far in the General Assembly in previous years, and Gov. Bob Taft remains opposed to the idea. Lawmakers are considering the issue more seriously now, however, because of the state's financial crisis.

LEBANON RACEWAY

The track is at the Warren County Fairgrounds, 665 N. Broadway, and is owned by two Warren County families. The track has live racing four nights a week October-April. Information: www.thelebanonraceway.com, (513) 932-4936.

"We're going to need to balance the (state) budget," says state Rep. Tom Raga, the Republican who represents Warren County. "I think it's proper to explore all the revenue opportunities."

Mr. Blessing is more blunt: "The choice is going to be either that or a massive tax increase."

Much of the revenue from slots would go to schools, proponents say. Also, under the current bill, the city of Lebanon and Warren County would each get 0.25 percent of the gross proceeds.

That rationale for legalizing slots doesn't cut it with gambling opponents.

"Gambling is basically a tax on the poor, and to expand gambling beyond what we already have is the slippery slope toward casinos," says Phil Burress, president of Sharonville-based Citizens for Community Values. "Every time we hit a financial crunch, rather than make cuts they want to come up with a new way to raise funds, and they're turning more and more toward vice. Someone somewhere along the way needs to stand up and say enough is enough."

Proponents, however, point out that Ohioans already are playing the slots, they're just doing it in nearby states such as Indiana, Michigan and West Virginia. Kentucky's legislature failed to do so this year, the question is expected to resurface in the Bluegrass State.

The old-timers who visit Lebanon Raceway regularly aren't chomping at the bit to have a new gambling option. They realize slots would be good for the horsemen but aren't sure they'd improve the atmosphere.

"They don't bring in horse-bettors, it brings in slot-machine bettors," Bill Miller, 60, of Dayton says between races. "And you can bring kids to the racetrack, but you can't bring them with the slot machines."

Without slots, driver Jack Dailey responds, there soon won't be a track to come to: "We need them or we aren't going to survive."

E-mail candrews@enquirer.com