http://www.northjersey.com/news/102129954_No_Title_-_Yonkers_TR0903.html
Is Jersey losing big time? Horsemen point to success at N.Y. racino
JOHN BRENNAN
Horse racing advocates in New Jersey have long called for video lottery terminals to be installed at the racetracks as a way to generate income for the state, a small percentage of which would subsidize their purses. That effort has failed so far, but the concept is reality at Yonkers Raceway, just 20 miles from the struggling Meadowlands track — a proximity that, since the opening of the slots parlor called Empire City there in 2006, has lured growing numbers of harness racing drivers, horses and gamblers to Westchester from New Jersey. The money involved is immense — more than $6 billion wagered, with more than a quarter-billion dollars going to New York State's education budget and a $48 million horse racing purse subsidy that has allowed the once-fading, century-old Yonkers track to triple its nightly purses. By the numbers Empire Casino at Yonkers Raceway: Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway had a "net win" — the amount left over after 91.6 percent of the total amount bet was returned to customers — of $554.2 million in the fiscal year that ended on March 31. Here's where the money went: * Includes $44.3 million marketing allowance Source: New York Lottery, which runs the state's slot operations at racetracks
Across the Hudson, New Jersey horsemen seem to be waging a losing battle politically, in part because of concerns that New York doesn't have to consider — an ailing Atlantic City casino industry.
Governor Christie declared this summer that the state's first gambling priority must be to resurrect that once-robust state economic engine.
State Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester, has gone even further, vowing to block any bill that would end Atlantic City's statewide gaming monopoly. Sweeney and other leading South Jersey officials insist that the casinos would be further devastated by the loss of countless patrons from North Jersey if the Meadowlands added its own slots parlor.
Of course, some North Jersey residents have already found an alternative.
"I used to go to Atlantic City, to play the slot machines and walk on the Boardwalk," Iris from Englewood said as she left the Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway on Wednesday. "But they have the same machines here and this is so much closer, so why would I want to drive three hours each way to Atlantic City anymore?"
Both Iris — casino visitors tend not to offer last names — and Lorenzo from Suffern, N.Y., said they would prefer to skip the Hudson River bridge tolls and gamble at the Meadowlands.
In the meantime, they visit Empire City, where on Wednesday afternoon — thanks to a "Young at Heart" promotion targeted at those 55 and older that included a discounted buffet and doo-wop bands — hundreds of cars filled the parking lots.
Empire City isn't for every gambler — it doesn't offer table games, such as blackjack or roulette, and the bands that play are "cover" bands of the real musical groups that one might see in Atlantic City. But "convenience" gamblers, such as Iris and Lorenzo, say Empire City offers them enough.
About 11 percent of Empire City's customer-loyalty card members are from New Jersey, said public relations manager Clare Galterio. That includes many who arrive by an Empire City bus that makes 11 stops in Jersey City and nine more in Hudson and Bergen counties, winding up with a 10:40 a.m. stop in Fort Lee. The bus leaves Yonkers on the return trip each day at 4 p.m.
The horse industry's allies in Trenton — including state Sen. Paul Sarlo, D-Wood-Ridge — say those entertainment dollars are leaving New Jersey because the state won't allow gaming at the Meadowlands.
Sarlo said another reason is even more important.
"I'm not that big on horse racing itself, but I support it because of all the jobs that are associated with it," Sarlo said last week. "We need to keep those, and to preserve open space by keeping our horse farms. The industry needs to be propped up."
A 2009 study by the Rutgers Equine Center found that the state's horse racing industry produces $780 million in economic activity annually, with 7,000 jobs and $110 million in annual local, state and federal tax revenue while preserving 57,000 acres of open space.
But the state has already used up the funds from a three-year deal under which the state's casino operators provided $90 million toward horse racing purses in exchange for a guarantee for the state not to push for VLTs at the tracks. That prohibition extends through 2011.
The New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, which lost about $13 million on horse racing last year, used the last $15 million of a former Xanadu developer's $160 million upfront rent payment. Meanwhile, Christie has said the sports authority must become "revenue-neutral" in 2011.
"We'll have to appropriate [a subsidy for the horsemen], because otherwise they'll have to close their doors, no doubt about it," Sarlo said.
That appropriation may be politically unpalatable, however, given the state's current budget crisis. Christie has suggested that any industry that can't survive without a state subsidy — and horse racing qualifies, if taken in isolation from the rest of the overall equine industry — is not worth saving.
Tom Luchento, president of the state's harness racing industry organization, said his colleagues are willing to work with the state to sharply reduce the number of racing dates, allowing for bigger purses per race.
A parallel approach for thoroughbred racing this summer at Monmouth Park has produced better fields, much larger crowds and more total dollars wagered.
But Luchento insists that time is running out if the Meadowlands track is to survive.
"If this keeps going down, we're not going to be able to keep the drivers and we're not going to be able to keep the horses," he said. "It's all about money, and people don't know what the future is here."
George Brennan, a harness racing driver at the Meadowlands since 1994, said the lure of big purses at Yonkers means he will split his time "about 50-50" at each track this season after mostly driving at the Meadowlands in previous years. He said the horses are crossing the river too.
"The only difference, really, is that the horses don't drive over [to Yonkers] themselves," Brennan said.
Closure of The Meadowlands Racetrack — which Christie has acknowledged is a possibility — "would ultimately destroy the whole harness racing industry," Brennan said. "Within 10 or 15 years, there would be no harness racing anymore.
"Everyone wants to race at the Meadowlands — owners, trainers, drivers," Brennan said, referring to the one-mile oval at the Meadowlands that is twice the size of those at other tracks, including Yonkers. Brennan said that a longer track gives a much better chance to horses in an outside position, evening the playing field and encouraging more betting.
But Mary from South Orange, who works in Yonkers and stopped by Empire City to wait out the rush-hour traffic Wednesday afternoon, said New Jersey doesn't need more gambling at the Meadowlands.
"We already have Atlantic City anyway, and think of all the extra traffic you'd have around the Meadowlands," she said. "Enough is enough."
E-mail: brennan@northjersey.com
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