Sports agency chief: NJ horse racing needs permanent fix

[Qbins Missile Crisis]

OCEANPORT, N.J. - The horse racing industry in New Jersey will have trouble surviving unless state and industry leaders find a long-term solution to its problems instead of three-year quick fixes, the head of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority said Tuesday.

"We have no choice, we have to start talking," sports authority president and chief executive Dennis Robinson said at a luncheon to launch the Monmouth Park thoroughbred meet, which starts on Friday. "The first thing is to make sure everyone in the industry is on board and working together. If the industry doesn't work together, there will be no long-term solution."

Horse racing in New Jersey has been on the decline for decades, notably since the opening of the casinos in Atlantic City.

The fight for the gambling dollar and for horses to compete at the state's thoroughbred and harness tracks has intensified in recent years with tracks in surrounding states offering higher purses because of money generated by video lottery terminals.

New Jersey lawmakers recently approved a plan whereby the casino industry would give $90 million over three years to support the state's horse racing industry. In return, the casinos are guaranteed that horse tracks won't install video lottery terminals for at least three years.

Gov. Jon S. Corzine supports the measure and is expected to sign it soon.

Robinson said the three-year deals don't solve the problem.

"Now we have short-term windows and it does not create an environment where people are willing to invest in their business," he said. "It's a short-term business strategy, and people are saying, 'There is no way I'm making an investment in your window,' and they are right."

Robinson doesn't have a magic bullet to fix the problem. He said horse racing needs to build more off-track wagering sites, increase online and telephone betting and probably bring video lottery terminals to the tracks.

"There have to be options that are available to us that we are not thinking about right now," he said. "I think we have to turn over every rock to find out what we can do long-term to make sure this industry flourishes."

He said video lottery terminals are not the single solution.

"I think it would be premature to talk about any one option," he said. "New Jersey is a very different state from Pennsylvania, Delaware and New York relative to gaming, and I think our solution needs to reflect that."

On another matter, Dennis Dowd, the sports authority senior executive vice president for racing, announced that Monmouth Park has spent $750,000 to fix a pollution problem in a creek behind the track's barn area. Final resolution will require years of repair.

Posted on Tue, May. 6, 2008
TOM CANAVAN
The Associated Press