FastG45
05-22-2007, 07:16 PM
The state lottery is borrowing from horse racing with a new product, drawing cheers from some industry insiders while prompting others to hope for a late scratch. A statewide September rollout is planned for a game called Racetrax, according to Maryland Lottery Director Buddy W. Roogow. It will be a television monitor-style game similar to Keno, which has grown in popularity and now represents 28 percent of all ticket sales. Like Keno, it will be featured in bars and lounges where patrons pass the time as electronic equines run every four to five minutes. Racetrax, which was tested in about 20 locations last year, will debut in a thoroughbred-style format with a harness-type offering expected some time shortly after, Roogow said. Besides making money for the lottery, the intent is to highlight Maryland's horse heritage and raise the profile of the racing industry, the director said.We would love to help them, said Roogow, adding the game may come with advertising notices for post times at Maryland's six tracks and other incentives to go to live races. It is [Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s] desire to assist the racing industry as much as possible.Some in the industry are skeptical. Cricket Goodall, executive director of the Maryland Horse Breeders Association Inc., a group that speaks for thoroughbred mating farm operators, has been one of the most outspoken voices in saying the lottery has hurt racing. Racing's declineRacing used to have a monopoly on legal gambling in the state until the Maryland Lottery was created in 1972. Goodall and others link the birth and growth of the lottery to declining attendance at race tracks and slower industry revenue growth. Roogow pointed out that racing has declined in other places where there are no state lotteries. Whatever the case, Goodall is concerned Racetrax will further worsen trends for Maryland's live racing product. From what I've heard, it's virtual horses running around a track, she said of the game. That's a lot like what we do. We're very concerned about it.One who sees upside for the industry is John P. McDaniel, chairman of the Maryland Racing Commission, the industry's state government oversight board. He sees public awareness increasing, leading to more money for racing.If it's done right, it could be very beneficial, he said. There are opportunities for co-marketing and co- branding. If it's creative, it would help both racing and the lottery.Keno set a sales record of $10 million during the last week of December, according to Roogow. The lottery is looking to expand its video-monitor games segment because it, like racing, is having to deal with greater offerings in nearby states as well as slowing sales of its bedrock product - numbers games like Pick 3 and Pick 4. Having [slot machines] nearby and Internet gambling has made our environment much more competitive, Roogow said.Overseas broadcastsMeanwhile, the owner of Pimlico Race Course and Laurel Park is expanding its own global gambling empire. Magna Entertainment Corp. has entered an agreement with its chief rival, Churchill Downs Inc., aimed at broadcasting American horse races, including Pimlico's Preakness Stakes, in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Racing UK, a subscription television company owned by 31 British tracks, is the third partner in the deal. The three plan on developing a channel known as Racing World that may debut this summer.Our three companies account for 384 graded/group stakes races, W. Thomas Hodgson, president and CEO of Canada-based Magna, said in a Jan. 9 news release. This memorandum of understanding captures our vision to provide the highest quality racing to British and Irish customers.