By Marcus Green
The Courier-Journal

In the decade since horseracing tracks added casino games, so-called racinos grew faster than commercial and American Indian casinos, a study has found.

The annual casino industry report, published by the Analysis Group in California, attributed the growth of racinos to their relative infancy and lack of competition in three of the six states that licensed casino gambling at racetracks last year.

While much more money was wagered at Indian and Las Vegas-style casinos, racino revenues rose nearly 52 percent from 1994 through 2003, outpacing other forms of casino gambling.

Overall, $2.3 billion was gambled at racinos last year, up 8 percent from 2002. Revenues at commercial casinos exceeded $26 billion last year, growing by just over 1 percent.

"Commercial gaming is much more mature, more widespread and has much bigger numbers," said Doug Reed, director of the University of Arizona's Race Track Industry Program. "It's going to be hard for them to have the same rapid ramp-up" as racinos.

Rhode Island pioneered the first racino in 1993, followed by West Virginia in 1994. Iowa, Delaware, New Mexico and Louisiana also had legalized racino gambling last year.

Bills to expand gambling at Kentucky racetracks have died in the General Assembly the past three years, and Louisville's Churchill Downs Inc. is eyeing Louisiana as its first venue for alternative gambling. With racino revenues up more than 47 percent to nearly $169 million last year, Louisiana posted the highest one-year gain among the states with racinos last year.

Evangeline Downs Racetrack and Casino in Carenco, La., began supplementing purses with casino revenue in December.

As a result, average daily purses have nearly doubled to $120,000.

A racetrack adjacent to the casino is under construction and expected to open next year. Other amenities planned include restaurants and a sports bar.

"They're really trying to make it an entertainment complex," said Sean Beirne, Evangeline's director of racing and simulcasting.

At Mountaineer Race Track and Gaming Resort in Chester, W.Va., employment has grown to about 1,700 from 342 since slots were approved there. The track has added a 258-room hotel, convention and conference center, and spa in addition to slot machines and casino space.

The study also highlights the strength of the $4.2 billion American Indian casino industry in California. Churchill Downs, which owns Hollywood Park near Los Angeles, and other racetrack operators want to break into the casino market by putting the issue before the state's voters in November.

If approved, the state would require tribes to pay 25 percent of wagering revenues to a state fund or open the door to increased competition. If the tribes didn't comply, California would allow the addition of 30,000 slot machines at five tracks - including Hollywood Park - and 11 other sites.

Churchill Downs also is working with a developer to secure Pennsylvania's final thoroughbred license for a proposed Pittsburgh track and would become an investor in any company operating alternative gambling. Gov. Ed Rendell signed a slots bill into law in July.