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The promotions meant to drum up interest in horse racing at 90-year-old Fairmount Park among customers more comfortable staring at an iPhone than a tip sheet are creative and constant.

Horse Hooky is designed to lure those willing to skip out of work early each Tuesday to drink cheap draft beer and eat even cheaper hot dogs. Couch potatoes can rent six-person sofas in the grandstand. Saturday nights in the summer offer live bands, and more cheap beer.

Despite the party vibe, attendance continues to plummet at this southwestern Illinois horse track and the state’s four others. Purses are low, betting is down and horse owners are increasingly spurning Illinois tracks for venues in Indiana, Iowa, Ohio and other nearby states that have paired some casinos with ponies, according to track owners.

“We’re the third biggest market in the country, and we’re getting beat out by Indiana, Iowa, Arkansas and Minnesota,” according to Glen Berman, executive director of the Chicago-based Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association. “It just shouldn’t be.” […]

(T)he average total pay-out this year in a state-bred thoroughbred race at Arlington Park in suburban Chicago was less than $25,000, Berman said, less than half the amount paid to winners in Iowa and at least $12,000 less than tracks in Indiana and Minnesota. At Fairmount Park, the track’s 54 racing days represents a 35 percent reduction from the yearly activity eight years earlier, and in 2000, when the track discontinued harness racing, there were more than 150 days on the schedule.

* The Question: Time for slots at tracks? Take the poll and then explain your answer in comments, please.

survey solution

posted by Rich Miller
Monday, May 11, 15 @ 2:45 pm

Comments

Yes, with the video poker machines you can essentially have slots anywhere, why not at race tracks?

Comment by Ahoy! Monday, May 11, 15 @ 2:46 pm
Yes, it makes zero sense at this point not too. Put them at the State Fair Grandstand year round too

Comment by Anonymous Monday, May 11, 15 @ 2:56 pm
Serious question: Why should I care if horse-racing goes the way of the dodo?

– MrJM

Comment by MrJM Monday, May 11, 15 @ 2:59 pm
Why not give every declining industry slot machines? This help make Illinois more competitive with neighboring states.

Comment by lincoln's beard Monday, May 11, 15 @ 3:04 pm
No

Obviously a dying industry. This is how the free market system works.

How many times and ways should the State continue to prop it up?

Comment by Sir Reel Monday, May 11, 15 @ 3:07 pm
I voted No, but I do not care. What I care about is the once thriving multi-million dollar horse racing industry coming to the State year after year since the 80’s with an outstretched hand looking for subsidies and bail outs. I know that there are jobs at stake for small businesses in IL but if the horse track cannot attract crowds shouldn’t the business executives be told that such is the way of the free market. We have greater needs. Let them have their slots maybe but we should be done with bailouts of that business.

Comment by Anonymous Monday, May 11, 15 @ 3:12 pm
==Why not give every declining industry slot machines? This help make Illinois more competitive with neighboring states.==

Does gambling in some form already occur in all of these other industries? There’s a lot of money in horse racing on and off the track, and a simple, logical addition to help keep it here makes sense

Comment by Anonymous Monday, May 11, 15 @ 3:12 pm
I voted yes. I am personally against gambling expansion but that is my personal opinion. If a majority of the public wants gambling expansion do it and include slot machines/video poker. It does seem kind of silly that you can bet on horses at the tracks but not play video poker.

Comment by WAK Monday, May 11, 15 @ 3:15 pm
Voted yes, let them be competitive with the other states.

Comment by DuPage Monday, May 11, 15 @ 3:15 pm
It’s a no-brainer Yes allow it! To MJM why not save all the jobs that go with it like vets, farmers that supply the straw, workers on the back stretch, blacksmiths,all the jobs connected with the track, etc. If it’s a free market then why can’t they have the opportunity to do slots. They do it in other states and look at the success!

Comment by Anonymous Monday, May 11, 15 @ 3:15 pm
No, not a fan of any gambling.

Comment by Honeybear Monday, May 11, 15 @ 3:16 pm
I am sure there is empirical data to back this up, but expanded gaming at tracks has worked everywhere. This matters for any number of reasons and it is not fair to call this propping up an industry…this is about allowing an industry evolve in the same manner of its competitors, while simultaneously enhancing a revenue stream for the state. All that said, it is still not the end all for the industry. There are significant issues with the tax structure for the industry. And I firmly believe enhanced gaming at tracks needs to be tied to more stringent drug penalties and use regulations for trainers/owners…but that is a conversation for a different thread.

Comment by Downstate GOP Faithless Monday, May 11, 15 @ 3:16 pm
If there’s already gambling A at the track, why not allow gambling B? Casino owners don’t like it, but so what?

Put the tracks on oxygen for a little while more before they expire.

Comment by Ray del Camino Monday, May 11, 15 @ 3:21 pm
Keep jobs in Illinois.

Comment by Because I Said So.... Monday, May 11, 15 @ 3:22 pm
Yes. Should have been done years ago. The racing industry in Illinois cannot compete with other states because the racing market has changed over the last twenty years and we have not allowed the industry here to keep up. This would save thousands of jobs in Illinois that are currently going elsewhere.

Comment by Reformed Optimist Monday, May 11, 15 @ 3:25 pm
A more logical pairing is hard to imagine. Of course. Yes.

Comment by A guy Monday, May 11, 15 @ 3:25 pm
Popular tastes change. The sport is dead. You’re asking whether it’s last gasp should be in Illinois or one of those other states.

Someone please explain how creating slot parlors with insanely high operating costs is in anyway workable??

Operators will trim the season down to nothing because the tracks will continue to be money losers.

Comment by HappyToaster Monday, May 11, 15 @ 3:26 pm
I think that I was in high school when this unoriginal proposal was first discussed. Tracks are hurting. The number of live races per day has been reduced (sometimes as few as eight races) and the fields are much smaller. I have seen one or two races go off with only four entries, but, in many cases, without any late scratches there are only six horses per race. Both Arlington Park and Hawthorne are drawing many of the same horses and jockeys. Some of the horses are $5,000.00 claimers. “Kisses from Ocala” has run more than a few races and the mare is ten years old.

The legislature approved a bill to permit slots at the tracks, but Quinn vetoed it last year.

Comment by Under Further Review Monday, May 11, 15 @ 3:27 pm
Yes, but only if the money goes back to the horse race track as money for winners of the race.

Comment by Mama Monday, May 11, 15 @ 3:27 pm
Absolutely, yes. It makes no sense that restaurants, liquor stores, VFWs, and grocers have these while an institution designated for gaming like a racetrack does not.

You can buy a fish sandwich or a loaf of bread and play the slots, but doing so while also playing the ponies? Nope. End the hypocrisy and open it up.

The free market thrives on competition, whether it is for car sales or gambling dollars.

Comment by Mittuns Monday, May 11, 15 @ 3:27 pm
why not save all the jobs that go with it like vets, farmers that supply the straw, workers on the back stretch, blacksmiths,all the jobs connected with the track, etc

All for saving jobs, but if we saved every job that there ever was despite a changing world, we would still have to support all the telegraph operators, dirigible repairmen, and steam locomotive firemen that otherwise went out of style as technology or tastes changed. I voted yes, just to throw the tracks a lifeline that might tack on a few years to their survivability.

Comment by Six Degrees of Separation Monday, May 11, 15 @ 3:29 pm
Growing “medical” MJ in the infield of the tracks might extend their lives even longer…but don’t let the horses graze there, lest we have some very “interesting” races.

Comment by Six Degrees of Separation Monday, May 11, 15 @ 3:32 pm
Voted yes. When the 15 states that legalized expanded gaming at their tracks did so, they were attempting to prop up their state’s racing industries at the expense of the states whose governments would NOT do so. As a result, our state’s government must do what it can to protect our horse racing-related jobs here in Illinois. It has not done so up until now, but better late than never.

To answer MrJM’s question, horse racing isn’t going the way of the dodo. It might in Illinois, but it’s not in other parts of the country. Or world for that matter.

Comment by Roamin' Numeral Monday, May 11, 15 @ 3:33 pm
Yes. The horse racing industry creates tons of good agricultural and veterinary jobs and we should keep them in the state. Supporting these jobs with a tax on the willing (apologies to Thomas Jefferson) is an obvious solution. I’d take the next step and combine it with a Chicago casino to capture gambling dollars we are losing to Indiana and Wisconsin.

Comment by SAP Monday, May 11, 15 @ 3:36 pm
Voted yes, because I’m in favor of the tax dollars that go along with expanded gambling, and I don’t see much harm in expanding gambling in a place that already has gambling.

I do get annoyed with the crybaby tone from racetracks. Do they still get revenue from the state that comes from casinos?

Comment by Robert the Bruce Monday, May 11, 15 @ 3:42 pm
Doesn’t matter to me. Either way the industry is dying, and will never recover. Does anyone under say 50 care about horse racing if they aren’t in the industry? I sure don’t. Also, while no one would call me an animal rights activist I could do without sending horses to unnecessary premature deaths from racing them for sport.

Comment by Ron Burgundy Monday, May 11, 15 @ 3:43 pm
I voted no. there are machines everywhere these days, and the hand outs got to stop, time to slap em not fund em. I would be in favor of legalized sports gambling. Why not make that legal at the tracks only. Give them another form of gambling besides slots to see if that helps. Sports books would make a ton of money for IL

Comment by BlameBruceRauner Monday, May 11, 15 @ 3:46 pm
I’m okay with it if there are strict conditions that the money is plowed back into the track, and not just in the owners’ pockets.

The Illinois horsey set can get awfully creative. If you’ll recall, the Sportsmans Park crew landed a $750K construction grant after they had already shut down the track.

And it took forever for that fire at Arlington to really catch and finish the job, lol.

Comment by Wordslinger Monday, May 11, 15 @ 3:47 pm
==Does anyone under say 50 care about horse racing if they aren’t in the industry?==

The Derby’s ratings were good: http://www.paulickreport.com/news/triple-crown/16-million-viewers-tune-in-to-nbcs-coverage-of-ky-derby/

Comment by Roamin' Numeral Monday, May 11, 15 @ 3:50 pm
Yes. One of the few areas that really make sense for this. It’s not a handout as the State isn’t giving the tracks anything by allowing slots. If the bar across the street can have video poker, why not let the track have them, too.

Comment by Illini97 Monday, May 11, 15 @ 3:52 pm
Voted no,this industry is dying let it go the way of buggy whips and buckboards.

Comment by Joe Blow Monday, May 11, 15 @ 3:53 pm
The addition of slot machines is simply required to make Illinois horse racing competitive with other states where wagering on horse races is permitted. Illinois tracks are operating at a distinct disadvantage because other out of state tracks which have slots have been able to offer larger purses to the owners of winning horses.

An argument can be made that the Illinois horse racing industry has declined in part due to archaic rules.

Comment by Under Further Review Monday, May 11, 15 @ 4:01 pm
absolutely yes. long overdue. horses used to be a huge industry in illinois. we exported foals to other states bec we had a major breeding industry to go along w the tracks. i understand times and tastes change, but if machines can keep billy bobs tap from going under, how about keeping arlington and the others afloat?

Comment by Langhorne Monday, May 11, 15 @ 4:05 pm
==Indiana, Iowa, Ohio and other nearby states that have paired some casinos with ponies, according to track owners==

Would slots alone be enough? Or would they have to go full casino to be competitive again?

Comment by Formerly Known As... Monday, May 11, 15 @ 4:07 pm
No… Why not put them in High Schools for 18 year olds? Colleges? Gambling is one of the worst diseases one could have… The State sanctioning it is ludicrous… With all of the Slots and lottery money, why are we in such dire straits? Because it NEVER is the solution to problems.. Geez… I am clearly not a gambler… I never could wrap my head around all the beautiful hotels in Vegas…. They are built from all the people winning right?

Comment by Walter Mitty Monday, May 11, 15 @ 4:09 pm
Too bad there isn’t a “might as well” button here. Aren’t we close to the point of saturation locally and nationally with these? And I don’t think just drawing Illinois gamblers back will do much - competition dictates drawing in those from surrounding states content with 97% pay out stats. Go bold and return 103% and forecast the windfall profits of better racing revenues, and visitor tax revenue.

Comment by Long time listener Monday, May 11, 15 @ 4:13 pm
Put slots at the tracks but guarantee that the majority of revenue goes toward purse size. The way to be competitive is to make sure the horse owner wants to win here and race here. Low purse size puts better stables and horses in other states.

Comment by Anonymous Monday, May 11, 15 @ 4:14 pm
The parimutuel handle declines every year, attendance is zero and tracks are closing everywhere.

Where exactly is this vibrant industry in other states? You’re fighting a couple of tracks each in Indiana and Minnesota, one in Iowa and Arkansas, for smoldering remains.

Comment by HappyToaster Monday, May 11, 15 @ 4:21 pm
I think Exelon can put slots at nuclear plans too.
Griff

Comment by Griff Monday, May 11, 15 @ 4:49 pm
How about slots for any business in trouble? It would save those jobs would it not?

The entire industry seems to be losing favor with the public.

Should we institute gambling at golf courses since they are in need of funds and need to raise attendance? After all everyone knows that there is gambling on golf courses anyway….

Comment by plutocrat03 Monday, May 11, 15 @ 4:55 pm
Slots machines at Illinois race tracks will not revive a horse racing industry that is slowly dying. Adding slot machines will only create mini casinos at race tracks and compete for dollars with horse racing.

Comment by Enviro Monday, May 11, 15 @ 4:55 pm
So far I see 424 votes and the split is 81% for and 19% against. I see that as interesting but that also people want to see gambling expansion to happen! I say let happen and send the money wisely!

Comment by Coach Monday, May 11, 15 @ 4:58 pm
==The State sanctioning it is ludicrous==

Um, Walter, the State already sanctions gambling at horse tracks.

Comment by Anonymous Monday, May 11, 15 @ 5:03 pm
Absolutely yes!!

Comment by anon Monday, May 11, 15 @ 6:16 pm
I see so many people, missing the point. Yes slots at race tracks would keep the race tracks competitive,and offer the patrons a great gambling venue. But its about JOBS. Keeping the jobs here in Illinois, racing, agriculture, trades, the list goes on and on. Plus all the additional jobs that will be created, when the tracks are remodeled, and the gaming prospers.We have an opportunity to maintain and create thousands of jobs. Lets get this done, and put people to work…

Comment by tmbdice Monday, May 11, 15 @ 6:23 pm
Gambling is already taking place at the tracks. Slots is just another gambling option, not an expansion. If current casinos do not like the competition, too bad. They showed no mercy in devastating the horse racing industry in Illinois.

Comment by Anonymous Monday, May 11, 15 @ 6:26 pm
Plain & Simple. The tax revenue would help the State of Illinois immensely. Would also save thousands of Jobs currently racing,breeding,training horses. Not to discount all the new jobs it creates. It would spiral into a triple tax for the state. 1.Gaming tax. 2.Income tax. 3.Sales tax. Its a huge win for the State.

Comment by JP Monday, May 11, 15 @ 6:30 pm
I’ve never understood why this industry deserves such state incentives to remain in business. If an entire industry is dying, let it die.

Comment by Just Me Monday, May 11, 15 @ 6:36 pm
No - The Time for Slots at Tracks has long past,
Ninety Percent of Illinois breeding is gone.
Slots ain’t gonna save IL Racing - Too Late

Comment by x ace Monday, May 11, 15 @ 6:38 pm
It may be too late, but it needs to happen now to give the Illinois horse Racing indutry equal footing with Florida.

Comment by Anonymous Monday, May 11, 15 @ 8:11 pm
Why slots, let’s allow them to open up sports gambling(challenge federal law?) that would definatly put me at the track at least once a year.

Comment by Person 8 Monday, May 11, 15 @ 8:48 pm
The Illinois State Lottery has already placed its vending machines at racetracks.

Why are slots such a hugely complicated issue for the few remaining tracks in Illinois?

Comment by Under Further Review Monday, May 11, 15 @ 9:05 pm
I voted “yes”

“Why?”

Bowling alleys have machines, and horse tracks can’t have them?

I have no clue if it’ll help, but I guess it can’t hurt(?)

Comment by Oswego Willy Monday, May 11, 15 @ 9:29 pm
Yes- harness racing industry encompasses countless careers and jobs, without Illinois racing there will be a ripple effect negatively affecting countless people and their livelihoods.

Comment by Taylor Monday, May 11, 15 @ 9:46 pm
Yes. Racetracks were here first and they did not fight the casinos becoming land based. The casinos have taken away from the tracks. Racinos have helped
racing in our surrounding states and taken away from illinois race product. It would aid in jobs at the tracks but also with the rest of agribusiness in Illinois.

Comment by dee bar Monday, May 11, 15 @ 10:12 pm
I say yes!!! Everyone always says that horseman are looking for handouts, but that isn’t true! They are asking for a fair playing field. They just want to be able to continue a sport that has been around for ages. It is not all about gambling and money. I trained, owned,and raced harness horses. I brought many children and adults to see and work with the horses. Many of those children were learning or physically challenged. I could tell by the look on their faces that I had given them an experience that changed their lives forever. I could not have done that if I wasn’t racing. The casinos are simply meant to be an extension of the races. Another option for people to game that choose to. Why not leave the decision to the people who it directly effects? Or at least agree to support a sport.

Comment by Anonymous Monday, May 11, 15 @ 10:52 pm
The slots will bring desperately needed business to the tracks and will allow all the businesses associated with the tracks to remain viable. This needs to happen!

Comment by Kb23rem Monday, May 11, 15 @ 11:07 pm
i wonder how many of those who support propping up the tracks with slots are in the “the government shouldn’t be picking (economic) winners and losers” camp…

Comment by bored now Tuesday, May 12, 15 @ 6:12 am
The racetracks should not be excluded from offering slot machines to their customers. Gambling has grown to be part of our everyday life since the introduction of the lottery (which merely legalized back yard numbers.) Racing revenue trickles down to many industries: Hay farmers, grain facilities, farriers, veterinarians, local tack supply stores, local hardware stores, truck dealerships, horse trailer dealerships, fuel, fuel and more fuel are just the tip of the iceberg.

Comment by Trotter Tuesday, May 12, 15 @ 6:25 am
A lot of people say horse racing is dying. If you look at states like Del. and NY and every other horse racing state. They have let tracks install slots and their industry is booming. IL horse racing isn’t dying on its own, it’s being murdered by hobbling it. Horsemen (not track owners) have chosen to take good horses, drivers, trainers, to other states where they can make a living. With the best horses gone, no one wants to bet on IL races. Boost the purses, bring back the talent and rev up the agribusiness engine. This isn’t a handout from the state (the state regularly sweeps the horse racing fund anyway), it is allowing horsemen to compete with other states.

Comment by Norbert Macuga Tuesday, May 12, 15 @ 10:26 am
I voted yes. I have been involved in Illinois horse racing for more than 30 years and I would hate to see it die.

Comment by anon Tuesday, May 12, 15 @ 1:49 pm
I voted yes. I am a 4th generation horseman growing up in Illinois. Not only would it put my family out of a job, but how many others? Farmers, trailer companies, grain mills, blacksmiths, veterinarians, etc.

Comment by Anna Tuesday, May 12, 15 @ 2:54 pm
A racino for thorough breds and harness racing is a must !!
And for all politicians alike to realize the impact of what horse racing brings to the state. Such as tourism, employment, and thousands of revenues from outside the direct industry of racing. Illinois was 2nd only to N. Y. A few yrs. back !

Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, May 12, 15 @ 3:03 pm