Illinois horse racing needs bigger purses

Purses are the prize that Illinois horsemen race to win, and they support thousands of jobs throughout the state, from the horsemen and backstretch workers in the western suburbs, to breeders, veterinarians, blacksmiths, and feed and hay suppliers across downstate.

Increasing purses - indeed, maximizing purses - is the entire point of authorizing Illinois tracks to host slot machines or other casino-style games. When an adequate share of that revenue is used to increase the size of purses, Illinois will once again compete with racing in other states already using casino-style revenue to enhance purses.

The evidence is clear: Nationwide, those states permitting tracks to supplement purses with such gaming revenue are by and large far more competitive than those that don't. Those more successful states include New York, Pennsylvania, Iowa and Indiana.

The economics are simple: The stakes are higher and so the top horsemen in the industry - owners and trainers - go there to race, as do the best jockeys. With each departure from Illinois, our sport and the tens of thousands of jobs we support in the Chicago area and across Illinois agribusiness take another hit.

Statewide, the work of Illinois horsemen - the horse owners and trainers at Arlington Park and Hawthorne Racecourse - supports an estimated 20,000 jobs.

We could actually grow this sport, grow this industry, and grow more jobs at a time when our state desperately needs them. We can do all this precisely by doing what the other major racing jurisdictions have already done - authorize casino-style gaming as a means to increase purses - and empower Illinois tracks to compete against them.

Illinois horsemen are devoted to our sport, and we make enormous contributions to advance it. The horses stabled at Arlington and Hawthorne represent an estimated $200 million investment by horsemen. Additionally, we spend more than $50 million each year to keep those horses trained. And every four or five years when those horses retire, we must replace and replenish them - thereby reinvesting another $200 million.

Yet, relative to racing in surrounding states, Illinois racing is contracting. Only substantially increased purses will ensure that our investment continues. Should purses keep plummeting, owners simply cannot justify such significant expenditures. That would be a losing proposition.

Consider this comparison of thoroughbred purses for a standard high-level, state-bred race at Illinois' premiere track - Arlington - for 2015, compared to Indiana, Iowa and Minnesota tracks with gaming-enhanced purses during the same time period: $38,000 in Indiana, $49,700 in Iowa, $36,500 in Minnesota, and $24,500 in Illinois.

On Sunday, May 2, both Arlington and Indiana Grand Racing and Casino presented eight thoroughbred races (with no stakes races). While at Arlington the purses totaled $114,948, at Indiana Grand they were $213,500. The purses are bolstered in Indiana by casino-style revenue.

In Illinois, another factor reducing purses is an antiquated law that permits Arlington and other tracks to sweep dollars from horsemen's purses to subsidize their own operations. Thanks to this "recapture" law, Arlington will take an estimated $55,000 from horsemen's purses every race day this year.

As Illinois policymakers continue their consideration of gaming expansion legislation, it's critical to remember that Illinois tracks are in position to host slot machines and potentially also table games solely because of their association with horse racing. Any legislation authorizing tracks to offer such games absolutely must:

• Require that tracks use a significant percentage of that revenue to improve the size of purses.

• Immediately end the egregious recapture subsidy permitting Arlington and other tracks to divert dollars from horsemen's purses.

• Guarantee minimum live racing opportunities.

To do otherwise would not only short the working horsemen of Illinois, those men and women who make horse racing possible, but also undercut the best interests of taxpayers across Illinois.

Mike Campbell is president of the Illinois Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, which represents horse owners and trainers at Arlington Park and Hawthorne Racecourse.