Vol. 5 No. 2, February 2008
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More Track Subsidies?
As New Jersey’s horse tracks face flat revenues, slashed purses and increased out-of-state competition, Governor Jon Corzine may pony up more state and casino revenue to boost the flagging industry.
Racing officials want to make money with video lottery terminals at horse tracks. Corzine wants to subsidize the tracks by extending a 2004 agreement that funneled more than $20 million per year—half of it from Atlantic City casinos—to the racing sector. That agreement will expire this year.
Freehold Raceway cut its purse money by 7 percent last month, and more cuts are looming. The Meadowlands drew $440 million in bets last year, down $65 million from 2006, and started trimming its race schedule. Monmouth Park saw attendance drop (but posted higher daily averages) in 2007.
And when the Breeders’ Cup came to Monmouth last October, more than 41,000 race fans showed up. Breeders’ Cup statistics are not counted in the track’s business summary for 2007.
