another indictment of Churchill's management practices

[honest & balanced terry]

Kent Stirling of Florida HBPA discusses the state of Florida racing in general including comments about Calder. Sounds like it is just a wonderful goal to be a Churchill slots track.

"Each year fewer and fewer owners and trainers in Florida are making a profit. I would guess that very few of the owners and trainers that race year-round in Florida are making any money. Of the trainers stabled year ‘round in Florida at Calder, I would estimate that 90 percent of them are broke or headed in that direction. This is because the purses at Calder have not increased in the last 10 years. Since Calder doesn’t do much in the way of advertising their racing, the pari-mutuel handle declines every year and the revenue from slots earmarked for purses barely covers the loss from the shrinking revenue from declining wagering on racing."

"I think the worst thing that has happened to racing in my lifetime is the acquisition of tracks by large companies like Churchill Downs (CDI), Penn Gaming and the privately owned Stronach Group (formerly Magna Entertainment). These groups are focused entirely on their bottom line to keep their stockholders happy. All of these corporations used racing and the strong efforts and financial contributions of their horsemen to legally acquire different forms of alternative gaming such as slots. But within a few years of being permitted to hold alternative gaming, these tracks began working on ways to keep these newfound gaming revenues for themselves."

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/10/14/3050357/keeping-track-of-horse-racing.html

[farquarks]

Agreed. In addition, CD appears to be treating their "satellite" tracks (all but the mothership) as cash cows. Little to no further investment in facilities and racing quality. One would hope that any casino revenue directed to IL's tracks include strong safeguards to insure a Corp like CD doesn't play a shell game with the funds, should they come.

[SandyLoam]

One would hope that any casino revenue directed to IL's tracks include strong safeguards to insure a Corp like CD doesn't play a shell game with the funds, should they come.

And Secretariat is going to come back from the grave. These are MBAs and marketing suits "educated," schooled and trained to create and maintain profit regardless of the businesses they are in. There is no stewardship in businesses like horse racing or newspapers, where the nature of the industry should supercede business-school machinations and destruction of the companies in pursuit of profits. If you want to see a classic example of this, watch the "Undercover Boss" episode with the Churchill president. It seems funny, but it's tragic.

[Mary Ann]

Slots at the tracks are a temporary fix or solution.  All you have to do is look at what's happened to dog racing. Once slots got in at the dog tracks, the owners found they were making money with the slots and subsidizing dog racing. The dog track owners want to get rid of the racing because it's dragging down their profitability. In Canada, the government wanted to form its own gaming entity and take the slots away from the horse tracks. Canada wants all of that money and does not want to share with the tracks. Look at how CDI is diversifying by buying a casino in Mississippi and Ohio. I think Horse Voice said a couple of days ago that horse racing has to be able to sell its own product and he is absolutely correct. In the future, I don't see horse racing disappearing but I do see it becoming more limited with some of the smaller tracks closing. Less competition is never a good thing for the consumer. When there are only a few controlling everything, they get to set all of the rules.