4-28-09

Dear Fellow IHHA Members,

As President, one policy I practice is to tell the membership like it is. So, I’ll put it on the line – for Illinois horsemen, the next couple months are the most important months we have faced in 15 years. We are hopeful that by the beginning of June, the U.S. Supreme Court will rule in favor of the 3% percent bill which has gone through an exhaustive appeals process for several years. At stake, is millions and millions of dollars from the impact fee law which we are owed from the largest riverboats in state. If we get a positive decision, our abysmally low purse structure will improve for at least a couple years.

This decision is tantamount to a poker game of sorts, which if we lose, could have serious negative consequences in the form of decreased purses and even fewer racing dates. This is “do or die” for us. We are, in effect, “all in.” So, while we hold a sense of anticipation about receiving long-overdue money, we are also fearful of a decision by the court to hear the case which would drag it out for at least another year and put the whole victory back in jeopardy. If we win, our purse account immediately gains access to millions of dollars sitting in escrow. In addition it would also amount to about $14,000 a day in additional purse money which, would be used to increase our pathetically anemic purses. The IHHA will notify its membership as soon as we hear the decision.

In Springfield, we continue to work towards passage of a bill that would eliminate recapture. Although the House has watered down the original proposal, we remain hopeful that some measure of elimination can be restored in the Senate or a Conference Committee. I urge you all to write your legislator and tell your story. Let them know how outrageous recapture is and how it has taken millions out of our purses. Let them know that recapture has unfairly given millions of horsemen dollars to the racetracks. Let them know just how much we have been negatively affected by riverboats. Let them know that our industry adds as many as 40,000 jobs to Illinois’ economy. Tell them how Illinois reneged on its pledge to repay us for recapture. Through your efforts, we can help make new purse money a reality in our state.

A gaming bill (slots at the track) appears unlikely to pass this session. However, Springfield is less predictable than a horse race, so as we know, anything can happen. We have our prerequisites for a gaming bill echoing through the halls of the Capitol and if such a bill would pass, we are hopeful it would be a good bill for us. This session is tentatively scheduled to end by June 1st.

So, to conclude, while we wait for the Supreme Court’s ruling, say a prayer, cross your fingers, cross your toes, wear your lucky clothes, or do whatever you can think of to garner us a positive decision. The future of Illinois racing, as we know it, depends on it!

Sincerely,
David McCaffrey
President, IHHA

P. S. Don’t hesitate to call our office to find out who to contact in the legislature and Governor’s office to help us achieve our goals!