Betting at racetracks in Ohio dropping off

Neighboring states allow slot machines at racetracks.

CINCINNATI (AP) — Betting at two southwest Ohio horse racing tracks fell in the last year, continuing a long-term trend also felt by the state’s other five racetracks, which claim their inability to operate slot machines and other casino games has made it difficult to compete with higher purses in neighboring states.

Betting at Ohio’s racetracks has fallen off more than 30 percent in the last five years, sliding from almost $619 million in 2001 to just $430 million last year.

Officials at Cincinnati’s River Downs said they had a better year than some of their six in-state counterparts, but still saw a 6.9 percent decline in betting for the season that ended Sept. 8. Betting at Lebanon Raceway in Warren County has dropped 15.2 percent this year, said Mel Hagemeyer, the track’s director of operations.

“We’re really getting hurt — we’re just trying to keep on the same playing field,” with other states that have allowed slots at tracks, Hagemeyer said.

Neighboring states are relaxing rules on slot machines at horse tracks, a move that could siphon even more attendance and business from Ohio’s venues. Indiana will introduce slots next year, and Kentucky voters might also get the chance to approve a similar measure.

West Virginia already allows slot machines and Pennsylvania is following suit.

Horses going too

The slot machines bolster business and allow the out of state tracks to offer bigger purses for their races, luring horse owners away from Ohio.

“Ohio racetracks are just about all ready for the glue pot,” said Republican State Rep. Bill Seitz. “All these factors propel folks with good horses to states with higher-paying purses.”

Tracks in Indiana, Pennsylvania and West Virginia all offered significantly higher purses than Ohio for horse races last year. West Virginia led those states with an average purse of $182,900 for thoroughbred races, compared to $62,613 for races in Ohio, according to the Ohio Racing Commission.

“The problem is, we’re surrounded,” River Downs general manager Jack Hanessian said.

Seitz sponsored a bill that would have allowed tracks to install instant racing terminals, where gamblers bet on races that have already been run. Gov. Ted Strickland has steadfastly opposed the expansion of slot machines and similar games in the state, and the bill stalled in the Ohio House over the summer.

Some racetracks have begun installing popular bar gaming consoles like Tic Tac Fruit, which are similar to slot machines. But those games are the subject of a legal challenge and tracks could be forced to remove them if the courts decide they constitute illegal games of chance.

Magna Entertainment Corp., which owns Thistledown racetrack in northeast Ohio, poured $3.1 million dollars into supporting a failed ballot initiative last year that would have allowed slot machines at Ohio’s racetracks and two freestanding casinos in Cleveland.

Voters overwhelmingly defeated the measure, 57 percent to 43 percent, a statistic the governor’s office says points to Ohioans’ resolve to fight expanded gambling in the state.