Texas Threatens To Shut Down Racing Over HISA

[Parkview_Pirate]

Originally Posted by andicap

...Yes, I'm sure the transition period to federal oversight has been a bit messy but the feds cant do a worse job than the states have in destroying the sport.

We won't know until they try.

When I ponder "successful" Federal programs, it's a very short list filled with partial successes at best. Post Office, FFA, NTSB, NASA, Dept of Interior and some of what the military does. Most .gov agencies are bloated and inefficient, and often are involved with activities well outside their legal jurisdiction - FBI, ATF, IRS, Dept of Education, NSA, CIA, FDA, EPA - the list goes on and on. Their main goal appears to be controlling turf, and growing the amount of turf to control.

In a representative Republic, some of this inefficiency is expected as a side effect of the balance of power. Well, we've seen how that's working out, and near the end of Empires (Yes, the US is an empire), you'll observe the extreme levels of corruption, and increase of infighting as the various fiefdoms fight over the shrinking pie.

It would be lovely to see standardization of the rules, and more importantly effective enforcement of the rules in racing. I just don't know if there's enough surplus money to bring it about. Raising takeout and increasing other related fees to the sport simply tightens the strangle on the little guy's ability to take part.

As Hillary might say, at this point it probably doesn't matter. Contraction and collapse are baked into the cake, and racing will probably devolve to a handful of high-end venues supported by the elites, and back road racing for the commoners.

That's enough roses and sunshine for now.

[jay68802]

The tracks have known this was coming for a long time. It sat in the House for years. They knew what was being proposed, and what would happen if it was approved. The tracks had plenty of time to try and change their rules, and avoid this.

Instead, they buried their heads in the sand, and now it is their reality.

I really do not feel sorry for them.

[Dave Schwartz]

Originally Posted by jay68802

The tracks have known this was coming for a long time. It sat in the House for years. They knew what was being proposed, and what would happen if it was approved. The tracks had plenty of time to try and change their rules, and avoid this.

Instead, they buried their heads in the sand, and now it is their reality.

I really do not feel sorry for them.

Feel sorry for horse players.

This is another nail in the coffin.

[NTamm1215]

Originally Posted by Elkchester Road

P.Rosa...thanks for your post. Didn't realize that Texas had that mindset with regards to Horse Racing.

They don’t have that mindset whatsoever. In fact, the Horse Industry Escrow Account was created in 2019 and has re-routed taxes and fees that previously went elsewhere to the racing industry. It has enabled TX tracks to double purses and handle at both LS and SHRP is up substantially from 2019 to present day.

[Bustin Stones]

Originally Posted by Parkview_Pirate

We won't know until they try.

When I ponder "successful" Federal programs, it's a very short list filled with partial successes at best. Post Office, FFA, NTSB, NASA, Dept of Interior and some of what the military does. Most .gov agencies are bloated and inefficient, and often are involved with activities well outside their legal jurisdiction - FBI, ATF, IRS, Dept of Education, NSA, CIA, FDA, EPA - the list goes on and on. Their main goal appears to be controlling turf, and growing the amount of turf to control.

In a representative Republic, some of this inefficiency is expected as a side effect of the balance of power. Well, we've seen how that's working out, and near the end of Empires (Yes, the US is an empire), you'll observe the extreme levels of corruption, and increase of infighting as the various fiefdoms fight over the shrinking pie.

It would be lovely to see standardization of the rules, and more importantly effective enforcement of the rules in racing. I just don't know if there's enough surplus money to bring it about. Raising takeout and increasing other related fees to the sport simply tightens the strangle on the little guy's ability to take part.

As Hillary might say, at this point it probably doesn't matter. Contraction and collapse are baked into the cake, and racing will probably devolve to a handful of high-end venues supported by the elites, and back road racing for the commoners.

That's enough roses and sunshine for now.

Fed involvement considered in vacuum can be depressing. I suggest we compare the inefficiencies of the Fed to those at the state level. Are the incentives any purer at state level? Do govt workers in state commissions operate at a more caring and competent level? That's what this is about. Doing business across state lines adds responsibility we should not entrust to commissions who have only their own area's interests.

[Suff]

Originally Posted by jay68802

The tracks have known this was coming for a long time .

[Suff]

PETA or horse racing wrongs don't concern me as much as the enemy within.

Many of the well intended horse people are eroding the sport further with HISA.

All 3 Oklahoma tracks announced a year ago they wouldn't cooperate. Parx said they have to close down unless it's federally funded.

It's not going to work imho and it's more of the same from the same. The Think tank tanked.

[Elkchester Road]

Originally Posted by NTamm1215

They don’t have that mindset whatsoever. In fact, the Horse Industry Escrow Account was created in 2019 and has re-routed taxes and fees that previously went elsewhere to the racing industry. It has enabled TX tracks to double purses and handle at both LS and SHRP is up substantially from 2019 to present day.

Much appreciated.

[P.Rosa]

Originally Posted by NTamm1215

They don’t have that mindset whatsoever. In fact, the Horse Industry Escrow Account was created in 2019 and has re-routed taxes and fees that previously went elsewhere to the racing industry. It has enabled TX tracks to double purses and handle at both LS and SHRP is up substantially from 2019 to present day.

That was done after Abbott & Patrick appointed a commission that won't try to compete for the neighboring states casino money or attempt to open an ADW system.

Here's and old article about what went on and what is still going on in Texas horse racing.

https://www.espn.com/horse-racing/st...-even-mess-big

Excerpt,

"About a month after Dan Patrick was elected Lt. Gov. of Texas last year, Tilman Fertitta opened his Golden Nugget hotel and casino in Lake Charles, La. Fertitta had donated $50,000 to Patrick. Fertitta has donated another $100,000 this year, according to Follow The Money. Located about two hours from Houston, the Golden Nugget is brimful of 1,600 slot machines, 60 gaming tables and eager-to-bet Texans. If the Golden Nugget is anything like the the other casinos that have sprung up like mushrooms just across the border, most of its customers are Texans. And how many of those Texans would drive to Lake Charles if instead they could find similar entertainment at Sam Houston Racetrack? That's a question the Golden Nugget probably hopes will never be asked.

Patrick, who presides over the state Senate, also received $125,000 from the Kickapoo Indians, who operate a casino in Eagle Pass, near the border with Mexico. Last October, when the legislature was trying to figure out just how it would respond to a Texas Racing Commission that had made an unprecedented move of actually attempting to take some positive steps on behalf of the sport by approving rules regulating historical racing devices, the Kickapoos made large donations, according to the San Antonio Express-News, to several Texas Senators, including $10,000 to Joan Huffman of Houston, the GOP Caucus chairwoman, and $10,000 to Jane Nelson of Flower Mound, the Senate budget writer. Huffman also received $27,523 from Fertitta. In addition, she and Nelson received $10,000 from the Chocktaw Nation, which operates casinos in Oklahoma. And so it goes in Texas."

[andicap]

So a few more racetracks close. That's a good thing for the sport. We'll have larger fields, more competitive races at the other tracks.

[$w1fT]

Originally Posted by andicap

So a few more racetracks close. That's a good thing for the sport. We'll have larger fields, more competitive races at the other tracks.

That's shown to not be true at all.

And Texas puts out a good product. Better than most states.

[P.Rosa]

Originally Posted by andicap

So a few more racetracks close. That's a good thing for the sport. We'll have larger fields, more competitive races at the other tracks.

Texas has the 2nd highest population in the US and doesn't allow ADW wagering. A few less tracks but many less gamblers will hasten racings downfall.

[JustRalph]

Originally Posted by $w1fT

That's shown to not be true at all.

And Texas puts out a good product. Better than most states.

you have to be joking?

[$w1fT]

Originally Posted by JustRalph

you have to be joking?

About?

The fact that tracks are closing already yet field sizes are not increasing?

Or an industry low takeout on Pick X bets at Sam Houston?

[Cholly]

MEMO
From: Cholly
TO: Texas Horse Racing Commission

Don't let the doorknob...