Betting decline leads to cutback in breeding

Ohio ranks 26th in average daily purses among 30 states that have horse racing.

XENIA, Ohio (AP) — A decline in betting at Ohio racetracks over the past few years has meant smaller purses for winning horses and their breeders, many of whom are under pressure to scale back their farms or sell them to developers.

“I’d love to keep this as a horse farm,” said Tom McCann, co-owner of Golden Glen Farm near this southwest Ohio city. “But I’m afraid I’ll be joining the growing list of people who have shut their farms down.”

Two years ago, Golden Glen was home to 32 Thoroughbred race horses. Today, the 157-acre farm has just 13 horses, and its financial hopes ride on a promising yearling bay stud named Cowboy.

Breeders and owners say Ohioans’ objections to legalized gambling are in part responsible for the uncertain future of horse farms. When voters said no to slot machines at racetracks in 2006, they also said no to millions of dollars in state revenues and no to Ohio’s increasingly hard-pressed horse farms, industry advocates say. Ohio voters also rejected casino gambling issues in 1990 and 1996.

With such neighboring states as Indiana, Pennsylvania and West Virginia offering other forms of gambling at their racetracks, total betting at Ohio tracks slipped about 30 percent from 2001 to 2006, from $619 million to $430 million, according to the Ohio State Racing Commission.

Ohio ranks 26th in average daily purses — about $60,000 in total winnings — among 30 states that offer horse racing, according to a recent study by the National Horsemen’s Benevolence & Protective Association.

Between 2001 and 2006, the number of Thoroughbred race horses born in Ohio dropped by more than half, from 634 to 292, according to the association.

“This isn’t just affecting horse racing, but the whole horse industry in Ohio,” said Laura Schmidt, a horse trainer and the manager of Golden Glen.

More than 16,000 Ohioans owe their jobs to horse racing, which contributes $770 million annually to the Ohio economy, according to the industry.

Gambling opponents say subsidizing the horse industry with revenues from slot machines and casinos would do more harm than good.

“It’s not like we’re glad to see the horse racing industry in decline and losing all these jobs,” said Rob Walgate, vice president of the Ohio Roundtable, a conservative group that has fought gambling expansion in Ohio for years. “But when they say the only way to revive the industry is to bring in other forms of gambling, we’re not for that and the people in Ohio are not for that.”

Meanwhile, the cost of feeding and caring for a Thoroughbred is climbing. The price tag for raising a Thoroughbred race horse from the time it’s foaled until it reaches the racetrack is $35,000, McCann said.

He said many of his fellow horse farmers are getting out of the business altogether and selling their land to developers. McCann said he and his wife, Judy, will tough it out — not only for themselves and their five employees, but for the sake of the environment as well.

“There’s this big push for green space around the cities,” he said. “This place will stay green as long as I can survive.”