Following is Op-Ed piece I wrote in light of this week's Breeders' Cup. It's been picked up by all of the major outlets. (Actually, you might have to track down my high school newspaper to see it in print....)
This week’s Breeders’ Cup World Championship events at Monmouth Park offer a welcome opportunity to celebrate New Jersey’s horse racing industry and, more importantly, seriously contemplate and deliberate on its future. As is widely recognized, a multitude of factors have contributed to the racing industry’s decline over the past fifteen years or so, most notably the impact of new wagering choices in the marketplace, such as casino gaming, lotteries, sports and on-line or off-shore wagering. While racing’s sluggish adaptation to a new business environment has exacerbated its troubles, other factors, too, ranging from societal land-use choices to political maneuverings in the state have helped accelerate the downward trend and draw its future into question.
Fortunately, though, there is hope. The state’s collective love for open spaces and its favorite animal continues unabated and New Jersey remains home to some of the nation’s premier racing facilities: Monmouth Park, Freehold Raceway and the Meadowlands Racetrack, which sits amidst a sports complex undergoing a renaissance of its own. Equally important, Americans’ appetite for gambling remains as strong as ever and the racing industry is uniquely positioned to offer speculators a superior, fairly priced, betting product that presents meaningful opportunities for returns at all levels of wagering. Seizing the opportunity to strengthen said product within the framework of the state’s overall economic development plan, as well as provide continued and improved protection of our environmental interests, will require collaborative long term planning, creativity and resolve.
In the short term, policy-makers should focus on two central objectives: 1) promote the breeding of more racehorses in the state; and 2) offer additional racing dates for horsemen to enter and race their stock. As states such as New York and Pennsylvania continue to ramp up their slots-enhanced purse structures to levels which New Jersey tracks will be incapable of matching, restricted state-bred races will prove the backbone of the industry. A steadily increasing horse population, generated through purse incentives, inventive breeding and racing programs, and even tax incentives at the state level, will provide New Jersey tracks with growing numbers of horses with which to fill race cards and, in turn, foster more compelling wagering affairs for the betting public. Horsemen will be motivated to race their New Jersey-bred horses based in-state and against restricted competition for dedicated purse incentives, as opposed to racing in neighboring states against stronger competition.
Similarly, additional racing dates, even at the expense of current purse levels, are warranted so as to afford New Jersey breeders sufficient opportunity to earn out with their stock. Given the uncertain nature of the breeding business in the first place, breeders, particularly smaller operations, require a longer racing season in which to compete their horses and earn purse monies. Under today’s typical racing calendar of 120 days, when a horse misses training time and racing starts due to a physical ailment or any one of a host of reasons, a horseman projects to lose a significant window of his earning opportunity for the year. In contrast to New Jersey’s abbreviated thoroughbred racing calendar, New York and Pennsylvania both offer year-round racing opportunities. New Jersey should move toward a comparable calendar, even if it results in a reduction of average daily purses in the short term. A goal of 150 days of racing for thoroughbreds would be a good start and likely help spur larger foal crops straight away.
Finally, growing the New Jersey racing industry requires thoughtful long term planning geared toward slow and steady growth, not well-meaning short term measures aimed at placating the particular and often fleeting interests of horsemen or Atlantic City casino operators. Strategic planning should recognize that the relationship between horsemen and casino operators need not be a zero-sum affair, as it is currently perceived, but rather, offers wonderful opportunities for partnership and shared growth in the marketplace. The dizzying development underway in Atlantic City and the Meadowlands hints at the common interests at hand and suggests that collaboration, not confrontation, would best serve the state’s general well-being.
New Jersey officials are absolutely right to often frame the issues facing our state in terms of sustainability and the racing industry requires no less. Preserving its future necessitates long term planning that contemplates ten and twenty year blocks of time, as opposed to three and four, as well as thoughtful consideration of the industry’s role as a natural partner to other economic engines in the state and continued steward of our environment. While we should undoubtedly enjoy the Breeders’ Cup in our backyard this year, let us also be reminded of the important work that lies ahead.
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