AN EQUINE EFFECT

STATE

Slots boost Pennsylvania horseracing by increasing purses, supporting breeder incentives

The same law that established slotmachine gambling in Pennsylvania in 2004 also has meant a big shot in the arm at just the right time for horseracing.

Purses won by horses in Pennsylvania races have been getting larger because a portion of the revenue generated from slot machines goes to racetracks to add to the winnings pot.

And a winner 's take becomes even larger if the horse's lineage is traced to the Keystone State in one of several ways, such as being sired by a Pennsylvania stallion.

Horse owners increasingly want their animals boarded in Pennsylvania, and race here to take advantage of the ? erks, with the economic impact stretching beyond the track, industry experts said.

While the race horse birth rate has declined nationally in the past several years, the number of foals born in Pennsylvania has increased, said Dan Tufano, director of horse racing with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.

Out-of-state owners are bringing horses to Pennsylvania to take advantage of the increased purses and breeder benefits, he said.

"We're positioned very well to succeed," Tufano said.

The state's premiere thoroughbred farm, York County-based Ghost Ridge Farms, owes its success to the slots law, general manager Carl McEntee said.

Pennsylvania's four top stallions in terms of monetary winnings by their offspring are now boarded at Ghost Ridge Farms, which began in 2000 as more of a hobby farm by owner Tarry Bratton, McEntee said.

Today, it boasts the No. 9 horse in the country in terms of offspring winnings. But the bigger claim to fame for this horse, Smarty Jones, was winning the first two legs of horseracing's fabled Triple Crown in 2004.

The economic impact of the industry comes from the people it employs and the local feed and hay purchased for the animals, McEntee said. There are about a dozen workers today at Ghost Ridge Farms, but the number increases during busier seasons, he said.

Having such reputable horses in the area also bolsters tourism, McEntee said. A stallion open house in fall 2010 attracted 3,500 people to Ghost Ridge Farms, he said.

Those people were stopping at area restaurants and fueling their cars at local gas stations, McEntee said.

Ghost Ridge Farms has become the largest thoroughbred stallion facility in the state in a relatively short period of time, said MarkMcDermott, executive secretary of the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association.

The money from slot machines has obviously been a big help, as today purses in Pennsylvania are among the best in the country.

The rise in purse amounts here comes as the general economy is taking a toll on the sport. People who own horses do so mostly with discretionary income, McDermott said. And discretionary income has been in shorter supply, he said.

In an industry that is finding hard times in other states, it is really going well in Pennsylvania, he said. It affords owners a way to make money.

The money for increased purses and breeder programs was authorized by the Pennsylvania Race Horse Development Act, said Richard McGarvey, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. The act established slot-machine gambling in Pennsylvania.

About 55 percent of slots revenue is subject to a tax, with portions going to the Pennsylvania Gaming Fund, local communities, the state Economic Development Trust Fund and the Pennsylvania Racehorse Development Fund, McGarvey said.

Slots generated $1.24 billion in tax revenue in 2010, he said. About 12 percent goes into the racehorse development fund.

For the first several years, all the money in the development fund went to supporting the racehorse industry. Today, some of the money is being diverted to the state's general fund, McGarvey said.

Through December, $829 million had been deposited into the racehorse development fund since slots began in Pennsylvania, he said.

Of the money, about 80 percent is distributed to tracks around Pennsylvania for purses that the horses win in races, Tufano said.

Sixteen percent goes toward supporting the respective breeding programs, he said, with the remaining four percent supporting financial benefits for back-side track employees such as trainers.

The breeding funds include the Pennsylvania Breeding Fund for thoroughbreds and the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes Fund and the Pennsylvania Standardbred Breeders Development Fund for standardbred horses, which race in harness races, Tufano said.

The money is used to issue bonuses to race horse owners, breeders and the owners of the stallion that fathered winning horses if the winners have the proper Pennsylvania lineage.

The bonuses can be as high as 40 percent of the purse winnings, Tufano said.

"It is having its intended consequences," Tufano said.

[Sidebar]

Stallion manager Daniel Suttle leads Smarty Jones around the viewing area during a stallion showing at Ghost Ridge Farms in York County.

[Sidebar]

Equine manager Kelly Allen of High Meadows Farm, right, and her assistant Carly Foster watch a stallion showing at Ghost Ridge Farms in York County. The Lawrence County horse farm worked on breeding with Ghost Ridge Farm last year.

[Author Affiliation]

BY BRENT BURKEY

brentb@journalpub.com