Beck wants plan for VLTs at racetracks fast tracked 10,000 slots at Meadowlands could bring in $400M-$800M BY JANE MEGGITT Staff Writer ERIC SUCAR staff The fate of New Jersey's horse industry is at stake as long as racetracks can't find means to supplement purses. Above, a horse at Millstone's Chestnut Ridge Equestrian Center. MILLSTONE - If the Casino Association of New Jersey (CANJ) and the horse racing industry can't reach an agreement for new subsidies by next week, Sen. Jennifer Beck (R- Monmouth/Mercer) will introduce legislation to permit Video Lottery Terminals (VLTs) at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford. The CANJ just finished a four-year subsidy program for the horse racing industry in which casinos provided $86 million to New Jersey racetracks in return for not having VLTs or slot machines established at those venues. Racetracks in neighboring states, including New York, Delaware and Pennsylvania, have slots. Beck, a member of the Senate Gaming Committee, appeared before a large crowd of people involved in the horse racing industry at the Feb. 20 Millstone Township Committee meeting. She called the issue between the casinos and the horse industry critical and urged the public to call and write their representatives to demand that an agreement be reached. Beck said she recently spoke to Senate President Richard Codey, Deputy Majority Leader Sen. Paul Sarlo, both Democrats, and a CANJ representative. During the conference call, the CANJ alleged Gov. Jon Corzine's office is responsible for the delay, she said. "I don't know where the truth lies," Beck said. Beck said that Codey would allow her to post legislation for VLTs if the issue is not resolved soon. "The absence of CANJ support, to me, means we shouldmove forward [with VLTs] immediately," she said. Beck said the proposed bill would permit 10,000 slot machines at the Meadowlands. She estimated the machines could bring in between $400million-$800million per year, of which 18 percent would go to the racing industry and the rest would be revenue the state desperately needs, she said. Mayor Nancy Grbelja, who owns standardbred racehorses, said the state's equine industry is extremely important, and that its demise would be devastating to Monmouth County, which has two racetracks - Freehold Raceway in Freehold Township for harness racing and Monmouth Park in Oceanport for thoroughbredmeets. Grbelja said that Freehold Raceway has already cut purses due to the lack of an agreement with the CANJ. Further cuts could force horsemen to move out of the state, she said. "It's not realistic for them to remain in Monmouth County," Grbelja said. "It's easier [for them] to go to Pennsylvania and New York." An exodus of the equine industry could cause problems with preserved land, she said. "That land will become a burden to farmland preservation and the municipality," Grbelja said. "The alternative is development." Grbelja said Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholder Lillian Burry has agreed to establish a Monmouth County Equine Commission to help the county's equine community and the thousands of people it employs. According to a study the Rutgers Equine Science Center conducted last year, Monmouth County has a total of 960 horse operations and New Jersey has 96,000 acres of working horse farms. The study also estimated that the equine industry contributes $1.1 billion annually to the state's economy. Assemblyman Joseph Malone (R-30), who represents neighboring Upper Freehold Township, said he loves the horse industry and that if the state lost it, the area's quality of life would diminish significantly. Malone said that he spoke to Corzine on Feb. 19 regarding subsidies and VLTs and the governor remains "adamantly against" VLTs at the tracks. The assemblyman commended Beck for continuing to fight for a resolution to the issue. "You can't find a better advocate than Senator Beck," he said. "She's as tenacious and bold as person as you can find." Grbelja commented that Beck's bill would not be a short-term fix like the subsidies from the casinos were. Thomas Luchento, president of the Standardbred Breeders and Owners Association of New Jersey (SBOANJ), said his organization's surveys indicate VLTs at the racetracks could generate $2 billion dollars annually. He said Corzine wants to raise the gas tax and privatize toll roads, while the VLTs could raise revenue. Luchento said if the casinos don't want to operate the VLTs at the tracks, the racing industry would hire someone else to run them. Grbelja said she would like to see the state's racing commission control the VLTs at the tracks. Millstone's Karen Taft, who works at Freehold Raceway, told the senator that the racetrack would go out of business without support. Beck said the racetracks do need shortterm support whether they install VLTs or not. She said it is estimated that the industry would need $30 million over the next three years. "In my opinion, the money should come out of the casinos' pockets," she said. Upper Freehold's Anthony Perretti, president of the New Jersey Sire Stakes program, said the racetracks' last contract with the casinos gave the Sire Stakes program $800,000 a year for four years. The Sire Stakes program supports open space, and without it there would be no breeders in the New Jersey racing program, he said. Five years ago, there were over 2,000 standardbred broodmares in New Jersey, and this year there are 1,200, he said. Fifteen years ago, there were 100 standardbred stallions standing in the state, and now there are only 16, he said. "Horsemen now realize how much they will be racing for in Pennsylvania and New York," he said. In 2005, the New York State Assembly and Senate promulgated a comprehensive piece of legislation, the primary intent of which was to ensure the continuity of the state's thoroughbred racing industry. Part of this legislative package contained amendments to the state's video gaming and harness racing statutes, which resulted in the entire New York harness racing and breeding industry reaping both economic benefits and legal protections necessary to continue the state's standardbred racing. The law granted the reestablishment of statutorily defined percentages for purses and breeding fund reinvestment of the net win. At all New York harness tracks, 8.75 percent of the VLT net is allocated to purses, with an additional 1.25 percent distributed to the Agriculture and New York State Horse Breeding Development Fund. Beck said, "My sense is there will be a VLT bill posted shortly."