Just humor me for a second.

[Left Bank]

Originally Posted by justindew

Let's say that 5 or 10 years from now, a large number of racetracks finally land slot machines. Maybe Kentucky finally has them. Maybe Maryland. Maybe they are even finally a fixture at New York tracks, too. Maybe even a bunch of other places.

Then, lets pretend that it becomes the country-wide norm for there to be more money fueling purses from the slot revenue than from actual wagering on the races. In other words, the tracks are making SO MUCH money from the slots that the cash they bring in through the takeout on races adds very little to the purses, much less the bottom line of the track itself.

Now, let's also assume that 5 or 10 years from now, the issues that currently make racing fans and bettors frustrated (like wide-spread drug use in racing, ADW issues, among others) have still not been resolved. If "slots are where it's at", will the powers that be have any incentive to fix some of racings problems? In other words, is it possible that racing will become nothing more than a prerequisite for slots, and a drain on slot revenue?

I hope not.


I'm sure someone reading this knows more about this issue than I do. I look forward to reading your thoughts.

When the tracks start making so much money AND the drug issue heats up even more,it will get the attention of politicians who will say"why are we letting all this money get away from us" and they will jump in and tax the **** out of it even more than they do now and the windfall that racing receives will disappear forever.Politicians will ruin it all,as they are doing in New York.