LOG IN TO THOROUGHBRED TIMES

 
Need to reset your password?
 


Don't miss the deadline!

Sign up now for the Freshman Sire Contest presented by Markel and Thoroughbred Times

Chance to win cash prizes for picking leading freshman sires in 2011

To sign up and enter your Stallion Barn, click here.

  • Giant's Causeway sire of Heavy Breathing 1st Mdn (Feb 08, 8th GP). Owner, Starlight Racing; Breeder, Manganaro LLC...
  • Five Star Day sire of Star of New York 1st Alw (Feb 08, 8th AQU). Owner, Vincent S. Scuderi; Breeder, Ted Taylor...
  • Posse sire of Proud Ruler 1st Alw (Feb 08, 7th LRL). Owner, McCarty Racing; Breeder, Equus Farm & Susan M. Forrester...
  • Sorcerer's Stone sire of Miss Stone Express 1st Alw (Feb 08, 9th DED). Owner, Whispering Oaks Farm LLC (Castille); Breeder, Carrol J. Castille...

NEWS

E-Mail this articlePrint this article

Industry News bullet



Most Popular Stories bullet

Most E-mailed Stories bullet

Slots solidify Pa. Thoroughbred industry

Posted: Tuesday, February 24, 2009 9:40 AM

by Tom De Martini

Implementing slot machine gaming at Pennsylvania racetracks has given the state’s Thoroughbred industry the financial shot in the arm it sorely needed and provided breeders the foundation for future success.

That was the message Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association Executive Director Mark McDermott had for attendees at the Pennsylvania Gaming Congress and Mid-Atlantic Racing Forum on Monday in Harrisburg.

“We are in a fortunate position. We now have a solid foundation to move considerably forward and rival Kentucky in the breeding industry,” McDermott said. “We have the facilities here, we have the land here, and the right attitude is here.”

The state’s breeders’ incentive fund, which consists of monies garnered from slot machine and pari-mutuel wagering, pays incentive awards to owners, breeders, and stallion owners of Pennsylvania-bred horses.

That fund ballooned to more than $21.7-million in 2008 with $14.5-million coming from casino operations, McDermott said. The top incentive award recipient garnered more than $260,000 in additional earnings last year.

Prior to alternative gaming, the fund paid out between $6-million and $7-million per year in the mid-2000s.

As a direct result, registered state-bred foals in the Keystone State soared to 1,510 last year, up from 910 in 2001.

“The lesson in all of this is because we are such a subject in the legislative and executive branch of state government, unity is an absolute necessity in getting anything accomplished,” McDermott said. “It is the most important element in a program like this.”

Tom De Martini is a New Jersey-based Thoroughbred Times correspondent

E-Mail this articlePrint this article