The four-day Cheltenham festival (subject of Bill Barich’s new book, “A Fine Place to Daydream” — more on that next week) ended today, with Irish jumper War of Attrition winning the Gold Cup. “He was something else. He jumped each fence absolutely impeccably. I knew he had plenty in the tank from the way he pinged the last two,” said jockey Conor O’Dwyer. Favorite Beef or Salmon “turned in another lifeless effort” and finished eleventh.
This year’s festival was marred by a high death toll among runners. Five horses died of injuries on Thursday, three in one race alone, bringing the total number of horses killed to nine over the course of the festival, the highest fatality rate since 1996 when 10 died. The Jockey Club has already announced it will investigate the deaths and review safety procedures.
More: “A sub-standard Cheltenham, in the absence of Kicking King, Trabolgan and Feathard Lady? Forget it.”
Posted by JC in International on 03/17/2006 @ 5:30 pm / Follow @railbird on Twitter
– Former California associate steward Gina Powell testified “under penalty of perjury” that she gave information about the late Salix shot the mare Intercontinental received before running in a stakes race at Del Mar last summer to the head of security, who said he forwarded that information to the board of stewards and CHRB director Ingrid Fermin. Intercontinental won the race. Fermin has claimed that neither she nor the stewards knew of the late shot. Tote Board Brad has been covering this story since it broke. Visit his site for more details.
– Once, as many as 10 racetracks dotted Cape Cod. “While the competitive spirit of sea captains with their vessels has been well documented, they didn’t lose this spirit when they came back home. It was only natural that racetracks would be established throughout the upper and mid-Cape region.”
– Bill Finley would like to rename a few stakes races.
Posted by JC in Medication/Drug Policies, News on 03/17/2006 @ 5:25 pm / Follow @railbird on Twitter
Massachusetts racetrack owners could get the slots they wish for this spring. The state Senate passed a bill allowing slots machines last fall, and a vote on the issue is due to come up in the House next week. Supporters claim a narrow majority in the House, with an estimated 86 of the 160 members ready to say yes to slots (although, it must be noted, that’s not enough to override governor Mitt Romney’s anticipated veto). Even Massachusetts voters are getting on the slots bandwagon. According to a Boston Globe poll:
Fifty-three percent of voters surveyed said they were in favor of legalizing slot machines, and 41 percent said they were opposed, while 6 percent said they were neutral.
The poll also showed that out-of-state travel (to casinos like Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun in Connecticut) for the purpose of gambling is quite real:
Nearly a third of all respondents said they had traveled outside Massachusetts in the past year specifically to visit a casino or gaming facility.
While things are looking good for those who favor expanded gaming, the outcome of the House vote — whenever it’s scheduled — is hardly certain. Anti-gambling state representative Dan Bosley “is rallying his troops” to stop the legislation, and House speaker Sal DiMasi’s attitude towards slots could be called noncommittal at best.
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Racetrack employees are planning a rally at the State House next Monday to show support for the slots bill.
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More on slots from the 3/16 edition of the Boston Globe: An opinion piece by Steve Poftak argues that the proposed $25 million licensing fee each track would have to pay to install slots is too low:
If we assume that each slot machine generates revenues at a rate of $285 per day, which was the figure used by the Maryland Legislature during their deliberations on a similar casino bill, the net present value of income, after the state’s share and expenses, tops $600 million. This suggests that a recurring fee of $85 million per license would be closer to the true value.
Poftak makes a lot of the same points that an article in the Boston Herald did a couple of weeks ago, which also took note of what happened in Pennsylvania, where slots licenses were granted for a $50 million fee:
… some of the world’s biggest gambling companies have since paid hundreds of millions to gain control of the tracks and the slot licenses — far more than the $50 million charged to the state. The winners, in these cases, were not taxpayers, but racetrack owners who benefitted hugely because the industry bid up the value of their gaming licenses.
That sounds like bad news for taxpayers, but is it for racing?
Posted by JC in State Issues on 03/15/2006 @ 10:15 pm / Follow @railbird on Twitter
