May 16, 2013

BREAKING NEWS FROM SPRINGFIELD.   PLEASE READ.

Racetracks Are Trying To Block Horsemen From Sharing in their Internet Gaming Jackpot.
 

There are potentially terrible events happening in Springfield.  Three weeks after removing internet gaming (I-Gaming) from the big gaming bill, Senate President John Cullerton has decided to try and pass a separate I-Gaming bill in the next couple weeks.  The I-Gaming bill (SB 7) legalizes a racetrack to launch an internet casino (with slots, blackjack, etc.) and allows them to keep all of the revenues.  Any sort of new gaming license offered to racetracks in the past has always shared revenue with purses.  Why?  Because the purse side of the equation is the side that contributes thousands and thousands of jobs to the state.  Imagine how many jobs would be created/saved if $25 or $30 million would be pumped into purses annually.  Compare that number to how many jobs will be lost if horse racing no longer exists in Illinois.  A bill giving racetracks all revenue from new gaming is unprecedented, inexplicable, and inequitable.  

SENATE BILL 7, IN CURRENT FORM, WILL MAKE RECAPTURE LOOK LIKE CHUMP CHANGE.

To best comprehend what I'm saying, please see figure 1 and assume that both the big gaming bill (legalizing racinos) and the I-Gaming bill become law.  Ask yourself what the racetracks would do?

Figure 1 - Brick and Mortar Racino vs. Internet Casino -   Effect on horse racing.

             Racino                                    vs.                                 Internet Casino  

 I don't know how this I-Gaming bill was hatched but I do know that racetracks seem pleased with it and are not helping to change it.  This bill needs to be changed!  I-Gaming is the "next big thing" and in the not too distant future will be a huge money maker.   SB 1739 (Racino Bill) will be voted on in the House before May 31st.  Our concern is that if both bills become law, the I-Gaming bill is so lopsided in favor of the racetracks that Racinos may never be built. More information will be forthcoming to each and every one of you in the next several days.  The session ends May 31st.  The IHHA (in conjunction with the ITHA (T-bred Assoc.) is using every possible political asset to draw attention to this stunningly unfair piece of legislation.  Please stay informed and be ready to contact every Senator and Rep. possible to tell them how outrageous and one-sided this bill is.  

Dave McCaffrey

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Tuesday, May 14, 2013

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Wednesday, May 1, 2013
 

The Race Begins And We're Off to a Good Start!

Late Wednesday afternoon, the Illinois Senate passed SB 1739 (the gaming bill) by a vote of 32-20.  So, one-third of the process is completed.  Now the bill goes to the House where it will be voted on before May 31.   If it passes the House, Governor Quinn will hopefully sign this bill as it includes many of the changes he asked for that were lacking in the two previous bills he vetoed. 

Let's hope the whole process ends with the same result of today's Senate vote. 

 Dave McCaffrey

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Monday, April 29th, 2013
 

OUR NOSE IS ON THE GATE … AGAIN

SB 1739 (this year's version of the gaming bill) is likely to be voted on in the Senate within the next 10 days.   Although nothing is official, we are hearing that the Internet Gaming (I-Gaming) part of the bill is going to be removed.   As a reminder, the IHHA opposed the Internet Gaming provision because no money from I-Gaming was directed to purses.   So far, the "slots at tracks" part of this bill is the same as the last two bills that passed the legislature. 

Of course, passing the bill out of the Senate is the first step in a three step process.   If the bill passes the Senate, then it goes to the House; if it passes the House then it gets sent to Governor Quinn for his signature.  To make a racing comparison, SB 1739 is like a horse we've qualified and is ready to race.   The qualified horse, like SB 1739 is ready to go.   We win when the governor signs the bill.   The race starts now.   The IHHA will keep posting updates as the next few weeks unfold.   Good luck to all of us!  

- Dave McCaffrey 

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Friday, April 12, 2013

Tracks and ADW Providers Must Share Internet Gaming Revenue

Save Jobs. Support Illinois Agriculture.

Statement from the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, the Illinois Harness Horsemen's Association, and the Illinois Horsemen Benevolent & Protective Association

Horse racing tracks and ADW providers, which conduct online wagering on horse racing, are poised to offer casino-style games solely because of their association with horse racing.

But under Senate Bill 1739, tracks and advance deposit wagering (ADW) providers would not be required to share a dime of Internet gaming revenue with purses. The addition of Internet gaming would provide no benefit for the hard-working men and women who actually make horse racing possible.

The Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, the Illinois Harness Horsemen's Association, and the Illinois Horsemen Benevolent & Protective Association call on the Illinois Senate to amend SB 1739 to require track owners and ADW providers to share Internet gaming revenue with purses, just as tracks would share revenue from slot machines.

For more than a decade, Illinois lawmakers have contemplated allowing tracks to offer casino-style games as a means to generate additional revenue to support purses. When this revenue supports purses, Illinois horse racing will more adequately compete against racing in other states. And when horsemen stay and race in Illinois, they support not just the people who will directly lose out if the legislation is not changed, but also more than 35,000 jobs throughout the Illinois agricultural economy, from veterinarians to feed and hay suppliers.

When horsemen stay and race in Illinois, they benefit our state's horse trainers, breeders and owners, as well as our jockeys, drivers and backstretch workers.

We fully support allowing tracks and ADW providers to offer casino-style games online as a means to support purses. But let's remember that tracks and ADW providers would earn this gaming privilege solely because of their association with horse racing. Generating additional revenue to bolster purses - to save horse racing, preserve jobs, and support Illinois agriculture - is the entire point of letting tracks and ADW providers venture into casino-style gaming.

Unless Senate Bill 1739 is amended to require tracks and ADW providers to share Internet gaming revenue with purses, the proposal threatens to radically diminish Illinois horseracing and, in the process, cost thousands of middle class and lower-income workers their jobs, harming the best interests of the state of Illinois and its taxpayers.

Revenue from Internet gaming hosted by horse racing tracks and ADW operators should bolster purses to support the men and women who make racing possible: horse trainers, owners and breeders, and jockeys, drivers and backstretch workers.

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Monday, April 8, 2013

A New Gaming Bill and a New Problem

With spring comes warmer temps and yet another gaming bill in the state legislature.  The latest bill is SB 1739.  We are told this bill will fix some of the problems (not horse racing related) that the governor had with previous bills.  The good part of SB 1739 is that the racino part of the bill is essentially the same as the racino part of the two previous bills that passed both the House and the Senate but were vetoed by Governor Quinn.  The bad part of this new bill and the reason for this correspondence is that it legalizes Internet Gaming (I-Gaming) and gives the racetracks and the current ADW license’s an option to attain an Internet gaming license.  Why is that bad?  Because Illinois horsemen are not included in any potential future revenues from the internet gaming piece of this new bill. What appears crystal clear to us is that the only reason why racetracks and ADW companies exist in Illinois today is because of their relationship with horse racing. The idea that they are being considered for an I-Gaming license without sharing revenue with horsemen is unfathomable. The IHHA and the ITHA (Thoroughbred Association) believe that SB 1739 as is currently written regarding Internet Gaming has the potential to kill horse racing. Yes, you read that right.  Without significant change, it potentially could end horse racing in Illinois.

We think the brick and mortar “racino” model that is in SB 1739 and took months and months of intense negotiations will be destroyed by SB 1739.  Consider the following current options handed to racetracks in this new bill. On the one hand, racetracks would have to spend upwards of a hundred million dollars to build a brick and mortar racino, pay tens of millions of dollars to license and purchase the slot machines, pay tens of millions more in gambling taxes, and then share the profits of that revenue stream from those slot machines with horsemen.  Additionally, recapture would end with the first dollar generated from slot machines at tracks.  On the other hand, in this current proposed SB 1739, racetracks can spend a fraction of the racino cost and own an internet casino.  Racetracks (internet gaming licensees) would only be required to pay $20 million of their future taxes up front.  They would not have to spend hundreds of millions to build brick and mortar racino facilities.  They would pay less in taxes on internet wagers than they would on racino wagers.  They would not have to share any portion of their revenues with horsemen, nor would they have to guarantee that racing continue, nor would they have to end their purse crippling practice of taking money away from horsemen in the form of recapture.  Simply stated, the current version of SB1739 is the death of horse racing in Illinois.  

If horsemen are expected to support this legislation then we will insist on the same benefits from an internet casino as we would from a brick and mortar casino.  In fact, because the entry point into internet gaming is so much less than the brick and mortar cost, we believe that our revenue share should see a substantial increase in percentage. 

In a letter to his membership, Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association President Mike Campbell wrote, "Unless SB 1739 is amended to require Arlington to share (I-gaming) revenue with purses, the proposal threatens to radically diminish Illinois horseracing and, in the process, cost thousands of middle class and lower-income workers their jobs, harming the best interests of the state of Illinois and its taxpayers."

The IHHA agrees with Mike Campbell.  So, what is it that we want?   SB 1739 needs to be changed.   Either the Internet Gaming language needs to be completely taken out of the bill or it needs to be changed to accommodate horsemen.  Over the next few weeks, our two organizations will work arm in arm to have the I-gaming part of the bill changed; if it does not get fixed, horsemen cannot sit idly by and witness another recapture-type effort pass under our noses.  

As we get closer to the end of the legislative session (May 31), we will provide regular updates.   Please stay informed.

Dave McCaffrey

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Monday, April 8, 2013

Harness Horsemen give the gift of education

Big Tom Scholarship worth $5,000

The IHHA is once again proud to administer a $5,000 college scholarship this year sponsored by a donation from Tom Lewandowski, generously given at the IHHA Hall Of Fame banquet and John and Jolene Leahy, who donated a 2013 breeding to Jereme's Jet which was auctioned off at the 2012 Walker Sale in August of last year.  100% of the proceeds from that breeding have gone toward the "Big Tom IHHA Scholarship Fund" to provide needed financial assistance for worthy students. Call the IHHA office at 630-323-0808 to have an application sent to you or simply click here to download one.

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Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Harness Horsemen International is now accepting applications for the 25th annual Jerome L. Hauck Scholarship. The application deadline is May 1, 2013.

The $4,000 award is granted to a son or daughter of a full-time Standardbred groom, or the son or daughter of a member of an HHI-affiliated association.

The HHI Scholarship Foundation was organized in 1986 in memory of Jerome L. Hauck, one of the founders of HHI who served as its president for 12 years.  The Foundation seeks to assist students exhibiting outstanding achievement among their peers, and to promote higher education and citizenship.

The award is given to a student who has demonstrated exceptional scholarship, citizenship, and leadership, who has completed high school or its equivalent and is entering college for the first time.  Character and personality traits are also reviewed in the selection process, and financial need is a consideration as well.

Applications must be received in the HHI office by May 1, 2013.  For more information or an application, contact your local horseman’s association or HHI at 319 High Street, Suite 2, Burlington, NJ 08016, (609) 747-1000, or email dhartmannhhi@verizon.net.

Note: For Illinois Horsemen this is a different scholarship then our annual "Big Tom" scholarship which is for Illinois horsemen only. That scholarship information will be available April 1. This Jerome Hauck scholarship is available to all HHI-affiliated associations, which Illinois is a part of. We encourage all students to apply for this as well.

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Wednesday, March 13, 2013

The Illinois Harness Horsemen’s Association has made some changes and additions to our 2013 health insurance program. After lengthy discussions we have decided to incorporate qualified Illinois breeders and their employees for possible addition to our health insurance plan. Just as with the current eligible horsemen, a strict criterion has been set up for this category. Since this is a new classification to our health insurance program, every person that applies will be subject to acceptance only after a complete and thorough inquiry by the IHHA insurance committee and final IHHA board approval. On the left side of this website, harnessillinois.com, under navigation, click insurance and then eligibility. If you believe the new “breeders” category may apply to you and you are interested, call us at 630-323-0808. Thank you for being a part of Illinois Harness Racing.

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Friday, March 8, 2013

SB 1739 has been put on hold for right now. The bill passed out of committee on Wednesday, even though there was some opposition related to the addition of I-gaming and the removal of some of the items that would benefit downstate and metropolitan programs. The bill is expected to be amended in the coming weeks. We will report as soon as we know something concrete.

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Wednesday, December 5, 2012

A Whole New View For Horseracing Fans

Drivers asked to explain their performance, good or bad; unparalleled transparency brought to Chicago racing.

The Illinois Harness Horseman’s Association (IHHA) this Friday, will unveil unprecedented between-race interviews that promise to revolutionize the way that fans handicap and understand harness racing in Chicago.

“I hope racing fans tune in to the Maywood Park signal on Friday,” said IHHA President David McCaffrey. “There are no other horseman’s associations or racetracks going behind the scenes like we are, doing immediate post-race interviews with drivers and trainers.”

The IHHA board decided during the summer to pursue post-race interviews with drivers in order to help fans understand why drivers make certain decisions on the track and to explain extraordinary circumstances.

“If a horse is the favorite to win a race and he races terribly and finishes last, I think fans want to know what’s going on,” said McCaffrey. “It could be something as simple as a piece of paper in the track that spooks a horse and causes him to break stride or a knee boot that comes loose and impedes the horse’s gait. Either way, the fans deserve an explanation.”

By bringing the drivers into the living room, the IHHA hopes that the public will become more engaged and will use the interviews when they handicap races. The board also hopes that the interviews will bring more transparency to the sport. To that end, fans will eventually be able to submit questions via Facebook and Twitter.

“There are a lot of factors on the track,” said IHHA board member and driver Marcus Miller. “A driver might get boxed in or there could be an equipment malfunction. Drivers make mistakes sometimes too. But the public needs an explanation. We need them to know that we’re honest out there.”

The concept is similar to what fans of other sports are accustomed to seeing in post-game interviews. Jeremey Day will be conducting the post race interviews. Day is co-host of the North American Harness Update and a Daily Racing Form Harness handicapper for Balmoral Racetrack. Drivers will be asked about their performance on the track and given the chance to explain what happened.

“We want to address the questionable parts of the race,” said Day. “If a driver’s strategy seems questionable or there was an equipment malfunction, we’re going to look at the replay and talk about what happened on the track.”

For the past month, the IHHA has been conducting generic interviews with trainers and drivers. A collection of these interviews can be found on the Illinois Harness Horseman’s Association YouTube channel. IHHA board member Bernie Paul said that these interviews will be different.

“These aren’t going to be fluff interviews. We want the tough questions,” said Paul. “We ask NFL quarterbacks about why they threw an interception or ran a specific play. Racing fans deserve that same kind of transparency.”

The first driver interviews will be conducted on Friday, December 7th at Maywood Park.

“Fans are going to be surprised,” said Paul. “This is a whole new approach to the sport. We think this will really help with handicapping and give fans a better understanding of the entire game.”

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Friday, July 20, 2012

In our never ending drive to educate our legislators and entertain our fans, the IHHA has uploaded the first batch of videos to the “IHHA YouTube channel.” You can see them here: www.youtube.com/theharnessillinois. We’ve also posted links on Facebook and Twitter.