Stop Predatory Gambling

A stuffed horse will never win the Triple Crown

by spgadmin

For at least fifteen years, horse track owners across the country have relentlessly lobbied state legislatures to give them slot machines. They said they needed slots for the preservation of horse racing, the employment of the horsemen, and for the prosperity of horse “agribusiness.” They argued slots were just a necessary catalyst to increase the purses and thereby promote the prosperity of farmers, trainers and other horse auxiliaries. 

Now many of these tracks have thousands of slot machines yet they are still cutting back the days of live racing.  This Albuquerque Journal article by Dr. Guy Clark puts a spotlight on the truth. Dr. Clark writes: “The tracks are revealing their true colors by again asking for a reduction in racing days. The Albuquerque Downs, Ruidoso Downs and Zia Park in Hobbs are asking the Racing Commission for a reduction in their racing schedule of from 11 to 14 days a year at each track. So much for the primary concern for the horsemen and ranchers.“ 

The track owners do possess a long term vision for thoroughbred racing  but it is far different than the one they publicly lobbied for. Their long term vision, rightly described by Dr. Clark, would “be represented by a stuffed horse, mounted at the entrance of their slot mills.”