Posted on 02/28/2025 7:31:05 AM PST by Cronos
..Back in the day, when horse racing was the only legal form of gambling in New York State, 20,000 or more people would jam the stands at Yonkers Raceway, cheering wildly as the horses ran their mile-long course. But on this day, despite the beautiful July weather, just a few dozen spectators hang around, slumped into faded orange seats along a chain-link fence. Even with online betting, the racetrack takes in less than one-fortieth of what it would have at the sport’s peak. So the horses take their two laps, head back down the runway and exit the track to something near silence. ...
Back in 2001, when New York State agreed to hand out new licenses to operate slot machines, the racing crowd won an agreement that a chunk of the proceeds would go to them.
At the Yonkers track, the adjacent casino was doing enough business to generate around $600 million during the last fiscal year. About sixty million of it went to pay out those purses, fund the local breeders and dole out a few million for Faraldo’s group. Multiply that by every year and every racetrack, and it’s billions and billions of dollars.
.. Maryland uses as much as $91 million a year in slot machine revenue to prop up its horse racing industry. The state last year agreed to acquire the decrepit Pimlico track and invest up to an additional $400 million to upgrade it. Pennsylvania has sunk over $3.5 billion over the past two decades into its racehorse development fund. Even Kentucky, the storied home of American horse racing, relies on a similar machine. Without them, “we would have a few days of racing at Churchill Downs,”
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Why was USAid money keeping the dying NYT alive?
No subsides for any sport.
Even though I’m originally from Maryland, where it was relatively popular, I never understood the lure of horse racing.
Used to love going to Ak-Sar-Ben in Omaha back in the 70s while in high school. They had a chance to put a dog track in the middle infield & a casino inside but said no. Now its an office park.
My cousin was one of the project managers on the new Horsemen’s Park & when they built it years ago, the owners had them run conduit for gaming machines which they legalized a couple years ago.
This is an even better question!
Rather watch them than cars or humans. It is beauty in motion.
The problem has always been the long time between races. A horse race is pure entertainment but the time between races turns people off. I have say that the characters you can see at race tracks is it’s own entertainment.
BTTT
Watching live night racing is the best.
Harness racing is not as bad, time-wise, as Thoroughbreds. We used to go to Batavia Downs in WNY on Fri nights. Watch the races, bet a little and socialize. Chuck Mangione used to hang out there. It is now has a crappy two-bit casino that subsidizes the racing.
Who remembers Dog Racing?
Oh forget horse racing. Let’s all bet billions on 18 year free agent college pros.
My God, spending money to upgrade Pimlico. How many billions of Maryland tax revenue has been spent to build and maintain pro stadiums (college, Ravens and Orioles)?
Quite some time back, went and toured Churchill Downs - what struck me was how tightly the television camera coverage has to be blocked, in order to make it appear fashionable and elite. The place is dressed up for the Derby.
The track and associated property is located in a truly slummy neighborhood. I can only imagine that the fashionable elite showing up to be seen at the Derby are shuttled in just prior, and run like hell to get out of the area as soon as the cameras shut off.
The banks of large dumpsters for the dead/euthanized horses are well hidden from view.
Because his mudder was a mudder.
Racehorses got very popular in the late ‘70’s as a tax write-off. My dad had a few, it was exciting to go see them run. they weren’t the expensive ones, they ran in $3-5k claiming races. We got into the winner’s circle a few times. They are so inbred they have a lot of health problems, quarter horses seem a lot less fragile. He eventually got tired of them dying for various reasons and sold them off.
lol
Here comes the hysterics
And your horse naturally won.
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