* From last December…
Arlington Park and others finally might have come up with a way to boost the lagging horse-racing business in Illinois, and it’ll require the tracks and regulators to pony up.
The plan would call for the Illinois Racing Board to tighten its belt and contribute up to $500,000 — about 18 percent of its budget — toward bigger purses for winning races next year.
* From yesterday…
The Illinois Racing Board Feb. 28 conditionally approved transferring $500,000 of its “surplus” operating funds to bolster purses at the state’s three remaining tracks. […]
The ensuing lengthy discussion prompted IRB chairman Jeffrey Brincat to reiterate, “I never thought it would be so hard to give away a half-a-million dollars.” […]
Representatives of the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association and the Illinois Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Foundation both said they support the idea of hiking purses. But they urged the money be used to fund races written for Illinois-bred horses, which carry awards for owners and breeders.
And the ITHA, echoing sentiments expressed by the harness horsemen’s group, said its members need further assurance that the redistribution of IRB funds will not result in a demand for more detailed scrutiny of their internal finances. […]
The ITHA and harness horsemen again raised fears that switching funding from the IRB operating account to horsemen’s purses might open their organization to demands for internal records. Board staff said there is no intent to do that and nothing in the proposal that would trigger expanded oversight.
OK, but now I kinda want to see what’s in those internal books. /snark
Legislation to enable the IRB to distribute the cash has been filed and is awaiting a Senate hearing.
*** UPDATE *** A spokesman for the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association sent me a statement which includes this…
Hello, Rich.
Please see below for the text of a statement read into the Illinois Racing Board record yesterday by an attorney for the ITHA.
As you will see, the statement references the practice of “recapture.” For more on that, please click here.
Regarding the ITHA budget, the ITHA publishes on its website a synopsis of its audited financial statements (click here) and also makes those statements available to ITHA members upon request.
The full statement is here.
- wordslinger - Wednesday, Mar 1, 17 @ 10:28 am:
So, will taxpayers get an equity stake for this direct contribution?
For crying out loud, these multi-millionaires with their hands out for welfare.
Illinois taxpayers already built a racing palace for Mr. D. Giving him half a million dollars cash is insane.
- Donnie Elgin - Wednesday, Mar 1, 17 @ 10:28 am:
Seems like a no-brainer can’t wait to see what some of those purses look like when I play my $.10 superfecta
- very old soil - Wednesday, Mar 1, 17 @ 10:33 am:
How about using the 500K to pay social services providers?
- Donnie Elgin - Wednesday, Mar 1, 17 @ 10:39 am:
Pools , pools I meant pools when you bet the exotics you are going after the pools - but the bigger the purses the better the horse and more railbirds are likely to bet the superfecta thus creating larger pools
- Small town taxpayer - Wednesday, Mar 1, 17 @ 10:52 am:
“Board staff said there is no intent to do that and nothing in the proposal that would trigger expanded oversight.”
The issue of oversight might lead to problems when seen from the taxpayer point of view.
- northsider (the original) - Wednesday, Mar 1, 17 @ 11:04 am:
The State is so flush it can give money away to racetracks? I guess we’re not so broke.
Don’t the tracks already get a couple hundred thousand in property tax credits every year?
- Donnie Elgin - Wednesday, Mar 1, 17 @ 11:05 am:
IRB revenues are all collected due to taxes and fees related to horse racing. Seems totally logical that they would use the surplus to enhance racing in Illinois. Going to the track is not only fun - the tracks also employ a heck of a lot of folks - the one’s I know are just getting by. So more purse money will help them just as much as it helps Mr. D’s empire. Here is the IRB’ s latest annual report
https://www.illinois.gov/irb/Pages/AnnualReports.aspx
- NoGifts - Wednesday, Mar 1, 17 @ 11:16 am:
Maybe people just aren’t that interested in horse racing any more? https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/apr/10/american-horse-racing-isnt-dead-but-its-getting-awfully-close
- Southside Markie - Wednesday, Mar 1, 17 @ 11:20 am:
The money is going to purses paid to horse owners, not the tracks. The fields at races are getting thin because purses are low. Without help, the industry will die and there will be no tax money generated by it — to say nothing of the impact on ancillary businesses and track employees. Many of those backstretch employees live at the track with their families. Interestingly, though, ITHA’s Treasurer’s Report shows a $300,000 loss during 2015, with a $267,000 expenditure for salaries. Seems like a lot for an organization with a 4 person staff.
- GEM - Wednesday, Mar 1, 17 @ 11:50 am:
My brain cannot wrap itself around the fact that, at the time we are cutting health care, human services, education, services to seniors, people with disabilities, veterans and school children, we are seriously talking about subsidizing horse racing. HORSE RACING!
- RLD - Wednesday, Mar 1, 17 @ 11:56 am:
Yes, please remember that this $500,000 is going to the racetrack’s purses not to the tracks. The gift to the tracks from the Illinois Racing Board to the tracks came the last two months in the form of tax breaks (over $3 million) and recapture (over $11 million). Let’s be very clear - the tracks love the IRB and vice-versa.
- northsider (the original) - Wednesday, Mar 1, 17 @ 12:08 pm:
Whether a tax is on bets or a tax is on soda pop, it’s still state revenue.
Giving it away to tracks or thoroughbred owners a when meals-on-wheels and social service providers haven’t been paid is a stunning example of the Rauner Administration’s priorities.
Love to know what other agencies are giving away, and to whom.
- Tigress - Wednesday, Mar 1, 17 @ 12:15 pm:
What does it mean that the tracks get $3 million in tax breaks and $11 million in recapture? If that’s true, people are upset that the purses are getting $500,000 while the tracks get $14 million in giveaways? By my math, $14 Million is almost 30X that of $500,000. Sounds fair…NOT!!!
- northsider (the original) - Wednesday, Mar 1, 17 @ 12:23 pm:
===Donnie & Markie===
Some quick math. There are 251 days of racing in 2017. Figure 10 races a day. Divide by $500,000.
Will $199 (that’s one hundred ninety-nine dollars) added to the purse & split among the top 4 finishers of each race do much to make Illinois racing competitive?
- Anonymous - Wednesday, Mar 1, 17 @ 12:33 pm:
It appears the gaming bill eliminates recapture, so let’s hope it passes.
- Mittuns - Wednesday, Mar 1, 17 @ 12:45 pm:
Recapturetheglory is a former Illinois Derby winner. If only this state could do that.
- RLD - Wednesday, Mar 1, 17 @ 1:32 pm:
And mega mega kudos to the racing board for being able to save $500,000.
- Donnie Elgin - Wednesday, Mar 1, 17 @ 1:48 pm:
==Northsider
if you read the info above it mentions that the 500K would only go to races that are limited to Illinois Bred horses - figure maybe 2 or 3 of the races on an average card would be eligible for the added purse money.
- northsider (the original) - Wednesday, Mar 1, 17 @ 1:58 pm:
== Donnie
Read it again, please. The Horsemen groups wanted it restricted to Illinois-breds. Arlington opposed any restrictions, and Arlington got what it wanted.There are no restrictions.
Also, the requirement of a certain number of Illinois restricted races each day was lifted by the IRB in a rule change last year. There are only a couple a month, if that.
- Tally Ho - Wednesday, Mar 1, 17 @ 3:20 pm:
For those of you who do patronize the race tracks, the industry has been begging for legislative relief for decades in order to remain competitive.
The river boat casino operators do not want the tracks to have slot machines or video gaming (which is the norm in many other states that have horse racing).
Many horse owners have bypassed Illinois in recent years to enter horses in Indiana and Kentucky where the purses awarded to winners are better.
Arlington, Hawthorne and Fairmont are the three last tracks operating (plus a few races at the State Fair). The legislature has ignored the tracks for ages and it is a case of doing something now or closing tomorrow. There have been significant cuts in the number of races scheduled and the prizes awarded. Hawthorne’s Spring Thoroughbred Meet consists of only 22 dates.
- Blue dog dem - Wednesday, Mar 1, 17 @ 4:28 pm:
Word@10:28. Amazing. Your comments are spot on. What happened?