Statistics in the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission annual report for 2015 reflect how integral revenue from slot machines is to purses for Thoroughbred and Standardbred racing at six racetrack casinos in the state.
A statewide referendum to allow a slots parlor adjacent to Suffolk Downs will move forward after the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled June 28 the question can be on the November ballot.
Horsemen's groups and casino operators in Pennsylvania have made known their opposition to legislation that would authorize tens of thousands of video gaming terminals in bars and taverns.
The New York State Gaming Commission May 23 approved a regulation to standardize and increase penalties against gambling operations—including racetracks—that let any minor under age 18 place wagers on their products.
More than $228 million was accrued for purses at six Pennsylvania racetracks in 2015 with almost 90% of the funds derived from slot machine revenue, according to an annual report that analyzes the racetrack gaming industry in the state.
The president of the New York THA said it's disappointing that revenue from the planned 1,000 new VLTs at Aqueduct won't produce revenue for purses and the New York Racing Association.
The head of the horsemen's group at Finger Lakes Gaming & Racetrack is predicting the end of racing at the upstate Thoroughbred track, after a new state government budget deal failed to protect purse levels.
Horses are back training at Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack & Resort, where more than three months of down time in late fall and winter allowed time for improvements in the barn area.
Racing and gambling matters are still in play in New York as the governor and lawmakers try in the coming week to put the finishing touches on a new state budget.
The New York State Senate budget resolution for fiscal 2016-17 includes a few recommendations for protecting revenue for the horse racing industry given impending competition from full-scale casinos.
A strong push to decouple racing from gaming officially hit the wall with the end of this year's Florida legislative session March 11, but a horsemen's coalition said it fully expects the issue to come up again in 2017.
With on- and off-track pari-mutuel wagering both up at the halfway point of its 2016 meet, Oaklawn Park has again raised overnight purses, this time by up to $5,000 a race.
Pro-racing lawmakers in West Virginia took part in a March 1 Capitol press conference to discuss the economic impact of Thoroughbred racing and breeding given legislation that would decouple live racing from gaming.
The West Virginia Senate Feb. 25 had first reading on legislation that would defund and decouple greyhound racing from gaming but maintain requirements that Thoroughbred racing receive its share of gaming revenue.
Legislation designed to modernize horse racing in Pennsylvania was signed into law Feb. 23 by Gov. Tom Wolf, who last fall threatened to shut down the industry because it couldn't pay for regulation.
The New Hampshire Senate voted Feb. 18 to table a bill authorizing one casino to be located at Rockingham Park, dealing yet another blow to hopes for the revitalization of the track and the return of live Thoroughbred racing.
Legislation that would remove the requirement that racetracks with gaming also offer live racing has been introduced in the West Virginia Senate.
A New York Native American tribe has filed a lawsuit to block a recently approved casino that has everyone from upstate casinos to racetracks worried about losing business to the new gambling resort under construction.
Illinois racetracks, which aren't permitted to have gaming machines, have watched about 5,100 other locations install slot machines which, according to a report, aren't subject to typical casino-style regulation.
The West Virginia Racing Commission Nov. 18 approved customary live racing dates, but the schedules for Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races and Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack & Resort are expected to be drastically reduced.
Because of a reduction in horses, Lexington training center will close Dec. 1 for the winter and may not reopen.
Racing stakeholders in Pennsylvania are working with Gov. Tom Wolf's administration to devise a funding plan for regulation in the wake of ongoing declines in pari-mutuel handle in the state.
Horsemen's groups are rallying to head off a move to decouple live racing from casino-style gambling at pari-mutuel facilities in Florida. Currently, tracks with slot machines must also offer live racing.
A New York State panel has tapped a fourth location for a full-blown casino as the state marches closer to a final set of approvals for a casino expansion.
A group of West Virginia racing stakeholders has prepared a report on the state of the industry and makes suggestions on how to improve the economics, but when it is approved remains to be seen.
The West Virginia racing industry will pursue several initiatives during the 2016 legislative session, including statutory changes that would lower the minimum number of racing dates for which tracks must apply each year.
Track president Bill Fasy said Delaware Park continues to make money, but when it comes to long-term things like capital improvements, the racetrack gaming industry in the state needs some assistance.
Pennsylvania lawmakers are examining legislation that would lower the minimum number of live racing days required at racetrack gaming facilities, and also allow each track to install slot machines at up to four OTW parlors.
Delaware Park will begin its 81-day race meet May 16 with racing three or four days per week through Oct. 17 and what appears to be a fairly solid horse population given local competition for racing stock.
Racetrack-based casinos in New York saw overall net win drop 1.4% from 2013 to 2014, a potentially worrisome sign as the state will expand the number of larger, commercial casino developments.
Saying the bill would have expanded gambling in Indiana, Gov. Mike Pence has vetoed a bill that would have allowed state residents to use advance deposit wagering to bet on horse races.
Distributions to horse racing from the state Race Horse Development Fund increased 9.5% in 2014 from the previous year, according to the annual Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board benchmark report released April 28.
Belterra Park will open its 2015 live race meet May 1 but it will do so without a contract with the Ohio Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association for video lottery terminal revenue.
A West Virginia Racing Commission purse analysis based on revenue projections from all sources indicates the state and its racetracks have serious issues to address regarding live racing dates in the future.
Their financial performances were no secret during the year, but now the final numbers for fiscal 2014 are in and, for the first time, New York racetrack-based casinos showed their first year-to-year dip in net revenue.
Groups seeking to block a Finger Lakes-area casino in upstate New York have been formally joined by a politically powerful and financially deep-pocketed ally: the Oneida Indian Nation.
New York lawmakers have given final approval to an expansion of video lottery terminal games at six of the state's nine racetrack-based casinos.
A measure giving flexibility to the financial operations of the New York State Thoroughbred Breeding and Development Fund passed by a comfortable margin in the state Senate, as it has every year since 2010.
Revenue for state government from the nation's pari-mutuel industry dropped 3.5% in 2014 from a year earlier, according to a new report by a university system think tank.
Both houses of the West Virginia legislature have adopted a resolution forming a select committee that will undertake a "comprehensive study" of the state's racing and gaming industries and report its findings in 2016.
Legislation has been introduced in both houses of the New York legislature to require the owners of a future commercial casino to make whole any losses suffered by horsemen and breeders at nearby Finger Lakes.
The owner of Finger Lakes Gaming & Racetrack in upstate New York is asking a state judge to halt the awarding of a license for a new commercial casino located just 25 miles away from the 1960s-era racetrack.
Video lottery terminals at Aqueduct Racetrack have helped push up prices of New York-bred yearlings and increased the state's foal crop in what economic development officials say has been a far-reaching impact.
There will be a live race meet at Suffolk Downs in 2015 and 2016 now that track ownership and the New England Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association have come to terms.
A New York casino panel has approved another round of bids for a gaming facility in the Southern Tier region of the state located near Binghamton and just across from the Pennsylvania border.
A proposal to ease Indiana's gambling laws, by permitting riverboat casinos to move onto land and allowing live dealers for table games at the state's two racetrack casinos, won approval by a wide margin in the Indiana House.
The Stronach Group remains optimistic about the future of the horse racing industry in North America and will continue to push for what it believes are fundamental structural changes needed to move the business forward.
As part of an examination of its equine medication rules, the Ohio State Racing Commission in February will begin hearing from various industry organizations involved in an effort to adopt uniform policies for all states.
A New York panel has begun anew the process for awarding a commercial casino license in the state's Southern Tier region after the urging of Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
The governing body of Jefferson County, W.Va., where Charles Town Races is located, plans to send a message to state legislators that further reductions in the share of gaming revenue that supports racing are unacceptable.
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