Archive for September, 2009

KEEP just released an editorial in response to KY State Senator David Williams’ criticism of the Thoroughbred industry’s desire for alternative gaming in Kentucky. Are you moved by this editorial? Where do you stand on the slots issue and have any of the recent editorials changed your mind one way or the other? The Paulick Report wants to know. - Bradford Cummings

In a recent response to an editorial by Bill Farish entitled, “Gambling, Not a Partisan Issue,” Sen. David Williams continued to attack Kentucky’s horse industry in a misguided attempt to divide and conquer horsemen.
 
What Sen. Williams doesn’t understand is that his attacks only further cement the unity among our industry to seek alternative gaming at racetracks. The horse industry is more united today than at any time in our history because we understand the enormity of the threat posed to our competitiveness. We live it every day as we watch our racing dates eliminated, our purse money decline and owners and trainers ship horses to states where purses and breeder incentives are enriched by gaming revenue.  
 
Sen. Williams began his editorial by saying expanded gaming is “bad economic policy for the state and for the horse industry.”  I firmly disagree. Isn’t it bad economic policy for the state to stand by while its signature horse industry declines because we lack the competitive tools other states are using to capture what Kentucky already has? Kentucky has a horse industry that is world-renowned for its product. It generates a $4 billion economic impact. It supports 100,000 jobs statewide. But in the end, Kentucky’s bond with the horse cannot be measured by mere economics. It is that intangible that makes Kentucky unique.  
 
Let’s take Sen. Williams’ points one by one.
 
Sen. Williams says, “expanded gambling will flood Kentucky with funds that will skew our body politic.”
In his response, Sen. Williams calls into question the Farish family’s affiliations and makes mention of political corruption in other states where gaming is allowed. This personal attack on the Farish family is an all-time low point in the gaming debate and will not go unanswered.
 
The Farish family has a long history of public service and staunch support of the Republican Party.  William S. Farish served as United States Ambassador to the Court of St. James under President George W. Bush. His son, Bill, served as a personal aide to President George H.W. Bush. Both father and son are lifelong horsemen who are actively involved in all aspects of Thoroughbred racing and breeding. From their development of Lane’s End Farm into one of the world’s premier breeding operations, to their service with the American Horse Council, the Breeders’ Cup, The Jockey Club, the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association and Thoroughbred Owners & Breeders, their commitment to the horse industry cannot be questioned.  
 
Sen. Williams says that once slots arrive, horse owners and trainers will get the short end of the stick.
If alternative gaming is not growing purse money at racetracks in those states where it is allowed, then why are Kentucky horsemen shipping to Pennsylvania, Indiana, West Virginia and Louisiana, among others?  
 
Total purses in Kentucky have been stagnant or have declined since 2001. In contrast, Thoroughbred and Standardbred purses in Pennsylvania jumped nearly 40 percent from 2007 to 2008, the first full year of gaming operations. Indiana’s Hoosier Park just announced its second purse increase of the current meet. Louisiana racetracks such as Evangeline Downs and Fair Grounds are enjoying resurgence. Gaming revenues are up 5.5 percent at Florida’s Gulfstream Park compared to 2008; while Calder Race Course will open its gaming operation in 2010.
 
The horse industry’s plan to authorize video lottery terminals (VLTs) at Kentucky racetracks was the most comprehensive show of support for the entire horse industry—both racing and non-racing breeds—ever to be introduced in the United States. Though purse supplements for Standardbreds, Quarter Horses and Thoroughbreds are the most visible allocation, revenue would be broadly distributed to enhance many Kentucky equine breeds and related programs.
 
Gaming funds would expand the Kentucky Breeders’ Incentive Program (KBIF), which offers economic incentives to encourage ownership of all Kentucky-bred horses, even non-racing breeds. As an example, since it’s inception in 2005 the KBIF has fueled dramatic growth in Kentucky’s Quarter Horse industry, attracting 600 new Quarter Horse stallions, more than 2,000 mares and an influx of new Quarter Horse farms.
 
Our proposal also dedicates revenue to promote the health and welfare of horses by funding new equine facilities and riding trails; it will enable improvements to the backside and stable areas at racetracks; properly fund the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission and repeal a sales tax on feed and equipment for horses—an exemption already bestowed on other Kentucky livestock.
 
Though he would like to convince you otherwise, Sen. Williams’ plan is not a “horse industry” proposal. Under it, he addresses only purse money; contributing nothing to the KBIF or non-racing breeds. His proposal would redirect to the horse industry $19 million in existing tax revenues that currently go to the General Fund, which is already suffering a shortfall. He would place a 10-cent tax on lottery tickets, so your $1 lottery ticket would cost $1.10. The Kentucky Lottery Commission estimates this tax would result in significant lost lottery sales, which would adversely affect our children since all the funds go to funding the Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship (KEES) program.
 
Sen. Williams says slots will not “save” Kentucky’s budget.
Kentucky’s horse industry has never made the claim that expanded gaming would be the silver bullet to Kentucky’s budget shortfall. However, what our proposal would do is generate at least $700 million in new revenue, including more than $200 million in new tax dollars for the state, and be a source of new jobs and new capital construction.
 
Sen. Williams says the horse industry is beset with problems endemic to the industry itself.
The horse industry competes with an explosion of casino gaming nationwide. Today, 36 states in the continental United States permit commercial, Indian and/or racetrack casinos.
 
Kentucky racing is battered by casino gaming forces on two fronts. First, we directly compete with six Indiana riverboats on our border, where $1.44 billion was wagered in 2008. Casinos also line Kentucky’s border with Illinois, Missouri and soon Ohio. These casinos, which include the nation’s largest riverboat, the Hollywood Casino near Lawrenceburg, are situated to take advantage of Kentucky’s major population centers.
 
Even more damaging to our competitiveness, each of the 12 racing states nearest to Kentucky—Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, West Virginia, Louisiana, Florida, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Ohio—are using expanded gaming to strengthen their horse industries.  
 
We don’t view alternative gaming as a long-term fix for Kentucky’s horse industry. Instead it will provide us with a short-term infusion of revenue we can use to spark economic development in our industry. These funds will help us compete, in the immediate future, by allowing us to raise purses and preserve Kentucky’s year-round racing circuit, renovate infrastructure, explore new marketing ventures and employ new technologies in an effort to attract new fans.
 
Alternative gaming at Kentucky’s racetracks will not change the behavior of Kentuckians. They already spend more than $670 million at riverboat casinos in Illinois and Indiana alone.
 
Sen. Williams, however, continues to stir the pot by stating that Kentuckians will have to “gamble” $11 billion to produce the $1 billion net win the horse industry proposal projects. As Sen. Williams knows, this is absolutely not true. He conveniently misuses this figure to confuse and concern. In reality, “churn”—whereby players repeatedly use their winnings to continue play—will account for most of that $11 billion gross wager. We are not asking any Kentuckian to gamble a single dollar that they are not already gambling. We are, however, asking that if they choose to gamble, they do it in Kentucky to help our own people. We don’t want a government subsidy!  What we want is a level playing field. If we get this we will out-work and out-produce our competition and remain the “Horse Capital of the World”!

By Ray Paulick
I’m not sure how I learned this little trick, but during my high school years in the late 1960s I had a transistor radio that fit perfectly into the cutout pages of a hard-cover book that I would dutifully carry into all of my classes each autumn afternoon when Major League’s Baseball’s World Series was under way. I’d plug an earpiece into the radio and run the wire up my shirtsleeve and into my ear, surreptitiously listening to the play-by-play accounts of the games as my teachers droned on about Herodotus or Themistocles.

That sneaky little maneuver ended in 1971. That was the year I graduated from high school, but it also marked the first time a World Series game was held at night, under lights. I didn’t understand then why the men who ran our national pastime were intent on ruining the game. Baseball was meant to be played in natural light, wasn’t it? Certainly, they would see the error of their ways.

I was overruled on that decision. In fact, as the years went on, more and more playoff and World Series games were played at night, and in fact the last day game for a World Series was more than 20 years ago. The reasoning was quite simple: more people watch television at night than during the daytime, even on weekends. Larger television audiences meant bigger rights fee for Major League Baseball.

So it goes with just about every other major sporting event, except perhaps tennis and golf (and the television networks have experimented with hosting golf tournaments under temporary lights). Nearly every major sporting event–from college football’s BCS Championship game and the NFL’s Super Bowl in January to the NCAA’s Final Four in March to the NBA Finals and World Series—have one thing in common: they are held at night to capture the largest possible television audience during what is known as “prime time.”

It’s about time horse racing started thinking like those other sports.

“Oh, but we’re different,” racing traditionalists will almost certainly say in protest to a transition to nighttime. “We can’t have the Kentucky Derby or Preakness or Belmont Stakes or Breeders’ Cup at night. We’ve never done that before.”

Well, guess what? That’s the way we’re heading with at least one of those events, and it’s the biggest one of all: the Kentucky Derby.

With Monday’s announcement that Churchill Downs is planning to install permanent lights, there is no question that a plan will soon be in place to hold the Kentucky Derby at night. And just like baseball’s World Series, years from now a few old-timers like me will rue about the good old days when the big race was held in the bright sunshine of afternoon.

Moving a race like the Derby from day to night isn’t quite as simple as shifting a baseball or football game, however. There is the not-so-small matter of wagering to consider. Horseplayers bet more than $150 million on the Kentucky Derby day card from Churchill Downs (more than two-thirds of that amount on the Derby itself), and they make the majority of those bets at other tracks around the country or at off-track betting facilities. What impact would moving the Derby to a nine or 10 p.m. starting time have on handle?

The ace up the sleeve to help Churchill Downs’ chief executive officer Bob Evans answer that question is account wagering. As more and more horseplayers wager legally by telephone or computer, it will be that much easier to envision a night-time Derby. In fact, how better to get new people to sign up for account wagering than to dangle that very proposition in front of them—many who might learn about it for the first time—during a prime-time telecast of racing’s marquee event?

Make no mistake about it, night racing is not a new thing. Harness racing programs have been held at night for as long as I can remember, and tracks like the Meadowlands in New Jersey have night-time Thoroughbred cards. Churchill Downs may have added some bells and whistles to its Friday night experiments last summer, but Hollywood Park and other tracks have been doing that for years.

The only thing missing from racing’s night-time schedule is a truly major event on prime-time television. And that could be just around the corner.

Copyright © 2009, The Paulick Report

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By Ray Paulick
So much has changed in the two weeks since the Keeneland September yearling sale began its marathon run on Sept. 14. The private jets and air transport planes lined up across Versailles Road at Bluegrass Field have been replaced by pick-up trucks hauling two-horse trailers. The sheikhs and other high rollers are long gone–except for a Paulick Report sighting today of movie star John Malkovich, strolling the Keeneland grounds looking dapper in a white suit as he prepares to portray trainer Lucien Laurin in the Secretariat movie. The high-end buyers have been supplanted by horse lovers of more modest means. Bids come not in $50,000 or $100,000 increments but often $100 at a time—if at all.

But the biggest change, and the one that will hit the hardest and have the longest-lasting effect in Central Kentucky, is the realization of just about every horse breeder’s worst fear: the almost surreal yet relentless dismantling of the Thoroughbred yearling market over a two-week period. Day after day, the hits just kept on coming in the way of deep double-digit declines in the key economic indicators of gross, average and median prices.

Pick your adjective: awful, brutal, terrible—they’ve all been used by various sellers and breeders who have been caught in a classic down cycle of buy high (2007 stud fees) and sell low (2009 market prices for yearlings). The fallout from this market is expected to be substantial. More than a few breeders have been forced to sell for whatever the market was willing to pay because of forebearance agreements with some banks that simply want to end their relationships with breeders and are willing to cut their losses.

We are nearing the end of the road for this year’s biggest sale. How many players in this industry will determine 2009 is the end of their Thoroughbred road is still to be determined.

After the final horse through the ring was sold on Monday (actually, it was an RNA),  Keeneland reported the following final numbers for the September sale, and they weren’t pretty: 3,159 sold, down 12.4% from 3,605 sold in 2008, for total receipts of $191,859,200, a 41.5% decline in the gross from last year’s $327,999,000. The average price of $60,734 was down 33.3% from the 2008 average of $90,984, and the  median of $22,000 was a 40.1% decline from the $37,000 median in 2008. In the end, the percentage of horses that failed to sell was 27.5%, higher than last year’s 24.8% but down considerably from the 35%-plus RNA rate from early in the sale.

Those numbers were even worse than the projections made by the Paulick Report midway through the sale. We projected the gross to end up at $190,000,000, but thought the average would be $65,000 and the median $25,000. The last week found a higher percentage of horses selling, but for prices lower than almost anyone might have expected. Monday’s final session ended up grossing $985,500 from 175 yearlings sold, an average of $5,613 and a median of $3,000.

This was the lowest Keeneland September sale gross since 1998, when 2,860 yearlings sold for a total of $169,811,800. This year’s average was the lowest since that same 1998 sale, which ended with a $59,375 average.  The median was the lowest since 1996, which had an identical middle market number of $22,000.

Back in the 1990s, Keeneland still offered a July selected yearling sale (it was suspended in 2002). When you combine the totals from July and September, you have to go back to 1996 to find gross receipts lower than this year’s September sale (the 1996 July sale grossed $58,430,000, which combined with 1996 September totaled $195,788,600). Any way you slice it, the red ink flowed freely at this year’s sale, and the pain felt by breeders was palpable.

By Ray Paulick
He doesn’t wear bright outfits or have jingly bells on his shoes or hat, but Eddie Musselman (aka Indian Charlie) willingly plays the role of the court jester to Thoroughbred industry royalty, entertaining them with stories about friends and enemies alike but always remembering who butters his bread while churning out a “newsletter” that lives up to its motto of never letting “the truth get in the way of a good story.”

He’s been sued by some of those he’s attacked in print, and maligned by others. To his credit, though, this jokester has a steady stream of advertisers and supporters who allow him, like the Energizer Bunny, to keep going and going, from Gulfstream Park in winter, to the Keeneland and Churchill race meetings in the spring, to Saratoga in summer and back to Keeneland in the fall for the sales and races. He never seems to tire of telling the same jokes or victimizing the same individuals, year after year. But, like the court jester, his aim is to please those he serves.

There is an old expression that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so I guess Eddie was flattered during this year’s Keeneland September sale when someone unknown to us went to the trouble of writing, printing and distributing a knockoff of the Indian Charlie newsletter that poked some fun at Mr. Musselman himself. I was a little disappointed it didn’t again feature that very flattering picture of yours truly. (Seriously Eddie, who does your artwork? I’m thinking of commissioning him or her to draw a life-size family portrait)

You can look at this parody by clicking here (the newsletter’s name and logo were removed by us so as not to breach any copyright laws). It was certainly a no-holds-barred mockery, with several allusions to Ed Musselman’s manhood (I’ve been concerned for some time that he might have a man-crush on me). For those of you not familiar with his “work,” my pal Ed seems to have a fixation with problems of my past. And that’s fine, I’m a big boy doing my own version of controversy. But as they say, what goes around comes around and it is clear that old Eddie boy has finally met his match, albeit an anonymous one.

Who is this masked man (or woman) that produced the parody? Why have they invested their time and money to make fun of a guy who is several hours beyond his 15 minutes and adds little value to an industry in need of serious people and serious solutions? How many licks does it take to get to the candy center of a Tootsie Pop?

I don’t know the answer to any of these questions, but for right now it doesn’t matter. Enjoy the newsletter parody below and let me know what you think. After all, what’s good for the goose is good for the…Charlie.

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Earlier this week, we were the first to publish Bill Farish’s editorial on why slots were an important step in give aid to Kentucky’s horse industry. Claiming that as a Republican this shouldn’t be a partisan issue but instead a Kentucky issue, Farish took Senate President David Williams to task over his divisive tactics of pitting Republicans against Republicans.

Late last night, the Paulick Report received an email response to Farish’s editorial from Williams. While 7:45 on a Friday night is generally a slot relegated for the announcement of John Edwards’ love child, we felt it important to give both sides of this issue a proper hearing. What follows is the counter argument to the pro-slots lobby. Where do you stand? -

 

I never cease to be amazed by the manner in which slot interests and their spokesmen such as Bill Farish continue to mislead Kentuckians. The proposed expansion of gambling in Kentucky is bad economic policy for the state and for the horse industry.  Those tied to the slots may do their best to raise the specter of false divisions and false hope, but the reality of the situation is unchanged.
 
Fact #1: Expanded gambling will flood Kentucky with funds that will skew our body politic.
Bill Farish failed to mention his family’s financial affiliation with the tracks as well as to the 527 “issues” group formed by the tracks and their supporters to circumvent campaign finance laws in order to intimidate legislators to support slots.  During the recent special election, his pro-slots 527 ran negative ads that never even once mentioned slots.  State after state with gambling in the mix has been rife with stories of political corruption.
 
Fact #2: Once slots arrive, horse-owners and trainers will get the short end of the stick.
In Florida, horsemen have complained that their promised doubling of purses has never materialized.  In Ohio, under the Governor’s executive orders, owners were left to their own devices to negotiate purses with the slots people.  In West Virginia, purse money was shifted back to state government to make up for shortfalls.  And in Kentucky, have we forgotten the bitter battle waged by Churchill Downs attempting to force our horsemen to accept a smaller slice of the revenue from Internet bets?  Or the fact that Churchill Downs pays to transport horses to its own Arlington Park in Chicago in direct competition with Ellis Park?  Once slots come in the picture, players will thrill to the speed of the machine and ignore the speed of our ponies.
 
Fact #3: Slots will not “save” Kentucky’s budget.
Gambling is an unstable source of revenue.  In spite of gambling, Illinois raised taxes.  Hardly a session has passed without Indiana’s casinos and racinos asking for yet another tax break. And gambling revenues are in a decline nationwide sending governments addicted to them scurrying for additional funds.
 
Fact #4: The horse business is beset with problems endemic to the industry itself.
The horse industry acknowledges that it breeds too many horses and runs too many races in a national economy that is fragile.  Racing fans are growing older.  The industry’s weak marketing has done little to help.  Very few people these days have the discretionary cash to plunk down a cool million for a horse, or even tens of thousands of dollars.
 
During the Special Session in June, Senate Democrats and Republicans unanimously passed legislation that would have nearly doubled funding for the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund and actually doubled funding for the Kentucky Breeders’ Incentive Fund without slots.  Our plan would have kept the KEES scholarship program whole and not hurt charitable gaming.  It would not have used any General Fund dollars.
 
The House plan would have forked over more than 50% of the revenue to the tracks and massively undervalued the license fees the tracks would have had to pay.  All businesses are suffering in this economy, yet the tracks insist that they and they alone deserve special treatment.
 
When the House introduced its gambling bill during the 2008 session, committee members were mysteriously replaced in order to ensure passage.  The 2009 version was heard in a committee that didn’t even allow the opposition to testify.  Finally, with the addition of over $1 billion worth of projects the bill barely passed during the Special Session. It was a far cry from the fair hearing the bill received in the Senate committee where both sides were allowed to air their views.
 
The House plan relied on Kentuckians gambling a whopping $11.9 billion – a figure that represents five times more than what is currently wagered at the tracks, at out-of-state casinos, and through charitable gaming.  Where are these players going to come from?  With gambling already in many of our sister states, slots will only cannibalize our own people — our most vulnerable sacrificed for what a horse industry insider, Ray Paulick, calls a “band-aid” solution.
 
We need to explore all the ways Kentucky horsemen can control their own future because as Churchill Downs trainer Michael Lauer recently noted, “…once the tracks get the slots, the horsemen become secondary citizens.”  I respectfully would amend that quote to include all Kentuckians.

By Bradford Cummings
Tucked away in a suburban enclave of Louisville, Ky., is an unassuming foster home for children of broken homes called Boys’ Haven. Like many programs of its kind, Boys’ Haven (they make a point of including girls on their logo now) exists as a government subsidized landing place for kids whose families were destroyed by drugs or abuse and had no place to go. The state of Kentucky requires these children and young adults to be taken care of through their 18th birthday when they are released into the real world–not necessarily with any job training, a proper education or even the understanding of what it takes to map out a productive future. Because of this, a high percentage of them end up in a prison or homeless and on the streets.
 
And then came along a retired police officer and horse trainer named Jay Wilkinson. An unassuming gentleman who seems as uneasy with the spotlight as he is hungry to work (in retirement, he regularly puts in days of 5 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.) Wilkinson’s experience in this industry and his passion to improve his community make him one of the many unnamed role models our society should turn to for hope.
 
Jay was a regular volunteer with Boys’ Haven and when he left the police force, he decided to turn his focus towards children before they ended up in one of his police vehicles. While he loved working with these kids, soon it was clear there was no real salvation for a population that was not forced to work, not exposed to the realities of leading a normal life and not equipped to hold onto a job if they ever even got one.
 
“These kids don’t have parents to watch go to work. They don’t know even when you’re sick, you have to push through it, that saying your toe hurts isn’t a good excuse,” said Wilkinson. Basically, all of the rudimentary understandings of life that the readers of the Paulick Report take for granted are not so rudimentary if no one has ever explained them to you.
 
In order to correct that and give these kids a chance at a better life, Jay used what he knew and pushed for what is now the Equine Program at Boys’ Haven. Under this program, opened in May of 2007, 17- to 21-year-old young adults in the Independent Living Program learn the basic skills necessary to become backside workers, veterinary assistants and other entry-level positions at racetracks and horse farms. He’s realistic about their potential, knowing that these young people barely have their GED and are almost certainly not going to become veterinarians. Jay does give them an opportunity to learn a trade, and that has greatly improved their self-esteem and given them a real shot in the future.
 
But you don’t have to take it from Jay’s words as the proof is in the proverbial pudding. In 2008, the Equine Program graduated 59 with 72.4% of these graduates employed within 15 days of completion of the program and 51.7% of those finding industry related jobs. Additionally, 73.3% of those in the industry renewed their licenses indicating they have found a home in our industry.
 
However, this isn’t just charity. Wilkinson, his staff and trainees are serious about winning races. With a stable of Thoroughbreds leased by individuals and raced under the Boys’ Haven name, they proudly state a very strong winning percentage in 2008 with 45% of their entries landing in the money. Major success stories include the 2008 Claiming Crown Iron Horse winner Antrim County. Their stable, based at Churchill’s Trackside training facility, runs in races across the center of the country with entries at every Kentucky track, Arlington Park and Mountaineer Park to name a few.
 
Of course, winning races is part of the fun but the real winners are the kids who look at the Equine Program as their last chance for salvation before being dumped on the street. “This is the first thing they have ever done where they have actually accomplished something,” said Wilkinson. “They get attached to the horses and they realize the horses are dependent on them. Now all of a sudden, these kids feel a responsibility to something else.”
 
While a trainee can make it through the program in six months, some take longer than others. These are emotionally damaged young people who need counselors to deal with the anger issues that come from consistent letdown in their lives. Outbursts are not uncommon but with the help of support staff, they are dealt with in a constructive manner. Instead of losing their jobs, Boys’ Haven works through the deep-rooted problems and eventually the kids are returned back to the stables.  Ultimately, those who come into the program and can barely take care of themselves make a revolutionary transformation in their lives.
 
Unfortunately, this program like much of the horse industry is losing money. Already $120,000 in the hole for 2009, the Equine Program stands to be running a deficit of more than $200,000 by the end of the year. That is not to say there isn’t any support. Generous gifts have been given to the Equine Program at Boys’ Haven from those below, many in the industry.
 
Amazing Products, Inc.
A. T. & T
William E. Barth Foundation
Blood-Horse Foundation
Brereton and Elizabeth Jones Charitable Family Foundation
Doug and Susan Byars
Al and Guy Campisano Family Trust
Community Foundation of Louisville
Cralle Foundation
J. Louis Elmore
Irvin F. and Alice S. Etscorn Foundation
Wood and Marie C. Hannah Foundation
Charles W. Hebel Jr.
Jamie and Corey Foundation
Catherine B. Keene
Kentucky Equine Education Project
Kentucky Foster Youth Transition Assistance
Kentucky Horse Council
Kentucky Thoroughbred Association
Kirkpatrick Foundation
PrimoGraphics, Inc.
Process Machinery Charitable Foundation
Raskob Foundation
Nicholas X. Simon
Taylor Made Charitable Fund
George P. and Henrietta D. Whipple Foundation
Woosley Foundation
 
If you have the opportunity to support this incredibly successful program, Boys’ Haven would be happy to receive your donation. You can learn more about opportunities with Boys’ Haven by contacting Director of Development Jim Grote at 502-458-1171 ext 108 or jgrote@boyshaven.org. You can also learn more about this organization at www.boyshaven.org.
 
In a time of mostly bad news for our industry, it is extremely uplifting to see a group bring good to our young people through the horses we all love. Additionally, they have found a positive way to engage a new generation of horse fans. Will their efforts single-handedly bring back the Thoroughbred industry? Of course not. But as we look for good news stories each week, it’s exciting to see that horses can give a second chance to those who thought they never had a chance to begin with.

Liberation Farm celebrates the many horsemen and horsewomen who strive each day to make things better for horses and those who work with them.  To learn more about Liberation Farm, click here.

Copyright © 2009, The Paulick Report

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By Ray Paulick
There is not a lot of spreading the wealth when it comes to trainers of American Graded Stakes winners. While there have been 130 individual trainers to win at least one American Graded Stakes in 2009, of the 346 AGS races run so far, 67, or about one-fifth of them, have been taken by the five leading trainers ranked by AGS winners: Steve Asmussen, with 17; Todd Pletcher, 15; Bob Baffert, 14; Kiaran McLaughlin, 11; and Bill Mott, 10. 

Asmussen and Pletcher have had 10 individual AGS winners in 2009, while Baffert, McLaughlin and Mott have nine each. It’s interesting to note that Asmussen, Pletcher, Baffert, McLaughlin and Mott are the top five trainers, in that order, by money won in 2009 as well.

But the domination of top trainers in American Graded Stakes doesn’t end with those five. Another eight trainers have won 65 AGS races in 2009: Robert Frankel, 10; Jonathan Sheppard, 10;Christophe Clement, Larry Jones and John Sadler, with eight each; and Jeff Mullins, John Shirreffs, and Marty Wolfson, with seven each.

Thus, 13 trainers have accounted for 132 of the 346 AGS races run so far this year, or 38.2% of the total.

Of the 346 AGS races run in 2009, 71, or 20.5% of them, were Grade 1 events. The clear-cut leader by winners in this category is Bob Baffert, with eight. Baffert, who was inducted in the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame in August, has had six individual horses win a G1 race in 2009: Pioneerof the Nile, Santa Anita Derby; Gabby’s Golden Gal, Acorn; Zensational, Triple Bend Handicap, Bing Crosby Handicap, and Pat O’Brien Stakes; Internallyflawless, Del Mar Oaks; Richard’s Kid, Pacific Classic; and Lookin at Lucky, Del Mar Futurity.

Christophe Clement is second in G1 victories, with six, including four by turf ace Gio Ponti; Steve Asmussen is next with five, four of them by 3-year-old filly sensation Rachel Alexandra; Saeed bin Suroor has had four horses win one G1 race each; Bobby Frankel has three G1 winners of four races; and Jonathan Sheppard has had two horses account for three G1 wins. These six trainers have won a total of 30 of the 71 G1 races run so far in 2009, or 42.3%. Thirty-seven different trainers have at least one G1 victory so far this year.

With 142 more AGS races in 2009, 44 of them G1, there are still some opportunities for other trainers to make a run at the top. But the trainers that have dominated throughout the year have stables deep in talent. The rich figure to get richer by year’s end when it comes to trainers of American Graded Stakes winners.

By Ray Paulick
I’m one of those folks who like to bet on horses. During my infrequent trips to Las Vegas, the only gambling I do is at the race books. I’ve gone to riverboat casinos, gambling barges, slots parlors at racinos, poker rooms and Native American tribal lands that offer casino gambling simply to get an idea of what the places are like, the kind of crowds they attract, and what type of competition horse racing faces. I’ve never dropped a penny, nickel, dime or quarter into a slot machine, or even bought a lottery ticket. Those things just don’t interest me.

In a perfect world defined by me, people would still have to travel to Las Vegas or Atlantic City to get their gambling jollies. That’s the way it was until April 1, 1991, when the state of Iowa—not exactly known as a gambling mecca—opened the floodgates and launched America’s first state-sanctioned floating casino onto the Mississippi River. It’s taken less than 20 years since then for the landscape of our country to dramatically change.

Where are we today? Eighteen of the largest 20 metropolitan areas of the United States are within a three-hour drive of a slot machine or blackjack table, the lone exceptions being Atlanta and Dallas-Ft. Worth. During a summer cross-country drive, I was stunned at the places that now offer gambling, either through casinos legalized by the state or on Indian reservations made through state compacts in the wake of the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988. It made me feel like a stranger in a strange land.

All of this new competition has had an enormous effect on horse racing. Many state legislatures have recognized the competitive imbalance the racing industry faced and enacted measures to “level the playing field.” In most cases, those measures allowed tracks to install Video Lottery Terminals, or slot machines, the most popular form of casino gambling. Those are the “have” states in horse racing: places like Iowa, Delaware, West Virginia, Indiana, Louisiana, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Florida, New York and Maryland either have or will have slot machines for an additional revenue stream divided among state government, racetracks and horsemen.

The racing states without these additional forms of revenue, the “have nots,” have suffered: Kentucky, California and Illinois, to name a few. Residents of California have numerous Indian casinos with thousands of slot machines to siphon off potential horse racing gamblers. Illinois has casino “boats” throughout the state. Kentuckians have plenty of gambling choices, too, via a short drive across the state line into Indiana, Illinois or West Virginia. In Kentucky’s case, it’s not only hurt racing, but the breeding industry at its foundation, along with the state budget and the many programs that are in need.

Because of the massive expansion of gambling, VLTs, slot machines or casino wagering has become an economic necessity for racetracks across America (an enlightened Canadian government long ago gave the Ontario Jockey Club the right to compete with casinos at Woodbine). It’s not something I really want to see or particularly enjoy; in my world, racing would be able to survive on its own. But guess what? It’s not my world.

Critics have said slot machines are just a Band-Aid to what ails the sport—and it’s hard to argue that point. But aren’t Band-Aids used to prevent patients from bleeding to death while doctors try to heal the wound? I suggest this industry will bleed to death in some states, including Kentucky, without this help.

Others who oppose the legalization of slot machines say racetrack management is not to be trusted, another good point, given the fact that many tracks are now owned by publicly traded casino companies whose sole interest in racing is in its key to unlocking the casino door. That’s why the late President Ronald Reagan often repeated the phrase “trust, but verify,” when dealing with countries that had a different agenda or priority than ours. In other words, horsemen must be vigilant in dealing with legislators and regulators, get things in writing, and leave nothing to trust.

What’s been missing from the debate in Kentucky over slot machines is a vision for the future of the racing and breeding industry. How will racetracks use their newfound revenue to heal a bleeding patient? Are higher purses all that’s needed, or will tracks be required to invest in marketing the sport of racing, or to modernize their facilities? Will horsemen and tracks work together to readdress a business model that isn’t working, or to lower the takeout and make the game more affordable and attractive to gamblers who have more wagering options than ever before?

The enlightening commentary by Bill Farish of Lane’s End Farm published yesterday demonstrated the resolve that most in Kentucky’s Thoroughbred industry now have to overcome the politics that have prevented a leveling of the playing field with tracks in other states. What’s needed now is a comprehensive plan for how this proposed new revenue would make this sport one on which more fans will want to bet.

 

 

Copyright © 2009, The Paulick Report

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