MOUNT VERNON — With at least one hoof already in the grave, horse racing in the state of Ohio is heading for an imminent demise as tracks in other states offer higher purses that attract more horses, Ohio citizens and their money — all because of the bells and whistles associated with slot machines at the race tracks.
The Ohio State Racing Commission has filed a proposal to allow slot machines, or video lottery terminals, at Ohio’s seven race tracks.
“If these slots don’t go in, racing in Ohio is done,” said Danielle Berger, horse owner, trainer and member of the Knox County Horsemen’s Council.
Berger and her husband, Aaron, are in their sixth year of harness racing.
“We have six horses and they all race,” Berger said. “We will go to 16 fairs and have 20 to 30 starts. In a year we will probably race 50 times — all in the state of Ohio.”
Berger worries that as Ohio’s race tracks struggle financially, the purses will continue to decline and those in the industry as a career will be forced to follow the money right out of Ohio.
“We are real people. This is not a hobby. We rely on this to make a living. There are a lot of people out there who are fifth- and sixth-generation families,” Berger said.
The fallout of continued decline at the tracks would hit more than just owners like the Bergers, an element of the equation Berger can’t turn a blind eye to.
The fallout of continued decline at the tracks would hit more than just owners like the Bergers, an element of the equation Berger can’t turn a blind eye to.
“Most people don’t realize how the horse industry branches out. It’s more than just me owning a horse. There’s a blacksmith, the vet, feed supplier, farmers with hay and straw, farriers, truckers — it’s a lot bigger than you think,” Berger said of the service providers that would be affected if horse racing were to shut down in the state.
Horse breeder and owner of Spring Haven Farm in Utica, Senena Estey feels the same way. In fact, she has already felt the crushing impact horses leaving the state to race elsewhere can have on a business.
“I had a client from out East who boarded 35 standardbred horses here,” Estey said. “When New York got slot machines the horses were pulled because they were New York eligible.”
This loss caused Estey to lay off employees and to quit leasing a Gambier farm.
“We had to reinvest in our own horses to try to make up for the loss but we’ll never get that client back,” Estey said.
“The proposal the racing commission has put together is really the fairest,” Estey said. “With 50 percent going to the state, as I understand it. I think it’s got to be the way to go.
“This just looks like the obvious solution to me,” Estey said. “It will certainly bring more money to the state of Ohio and especially the horse industry. Not just the standardbred industry, it would really help the thoroughbred industry, too.”
Ada Jacobs, a local horse owner, has watched as racing in Ohio continues to decline and feels adding slot machines would be the boost the industry has been needing.
“A good purse here in Ohio is $2,000. An average purse in Pennsylvania is $15,000. That’s quite a bit of difference. If this continues, the (horse) industry in Ohio will die,” Jacobs said. “If we can just get gaming at the seven race tracks in Ohio, it will all come back naturally.”
With the many hats Estey wears in the horse industry — boarder, breeder, racer, trainer — she worries about her passion and livelihood on a daily basis.
“I live in my own little world and I just see the impact losing those 35 horses a couple of years ago had on us. We didn’t know if we were going to survive losing 35 horses to a state that has slot machines and has already proven that it works to help their state,” Estey said.
Estey said she wishes Gov. Ted Strickland would pay more attention to the problem because she knows no one wants to pay more taxes and a solution has been presented that help so many.
“He just doesn’t want to hear it,” she said.
A message left for the governor regarding the proposal, and the state of the horse industry in Ohio, was returned by Amanda Wurst, spokeswoman for Strickland.
‘“The governor continues to believe that expanded gambling is not the right economic development for Ohio,” said Wurst. While the governor is always concerned about job loss, his focus remains on creating jobs and opportunity by creating a system of primary and secondary education that will prepare Ohio’s children for the 21st century economy, keeping tuition affordable at Ohio’s public colleges and universities and attracting high-growth industries, like alternative energy and logistics and distribution, to the state.”
