Racetracks push for 'racinos'

Lawmakers listening Wednesday for ideas about expanding gambling in Illinois, again heard the pitches for and against slot machines at Illinois horse tracks like Arlington Park.

"Thirty-six racetracks in 11 different states currently operate alternative gaming to support racing and generate tax dollars for their citizens -- and more are coming online each year." Arlington president Roy Arnold told a gathering of legislators, race officials, anti-gambling activists and agribusinesses at a Chicago hearing of the Illinois House Gaming Commission.

Opponents countered that the proposed law expands gambling overall statewide and paves the way for a city-owned land-based casino in Chicago.

"Racinos," or race tracks that feature slot machines or other traditional casino games, have taken off since their inception in the early 1990s but remain illegal in Illinois.

The Illinois Senate recently passed a bill that allows race fans to bet on races in advance online, along with other provisions advantageous for the horse racing industry, but it scratched slot machines. A separate proposal would legalize the machines at Illinois racetracks.

Advocates argued Wednesday that the horse racing industry in Illinois has declined considerably due to competition by riverboat casinos and neighboring states whose racinos offer fatter purses and draw Illinois horses out of state. Installing gaming positions in Illinois race tracks could help reverse this trend, they said.

Charles Hartke, director of the Illinois Department of Agriculture said there were 256 standard-bred stallions in Illinois in 1991, but the number has decreased 57 percent to 111.

"(Racinos) will help all the horsemen and it will also help the state," said Gene Allen, spokesman for the Illinois Quarter Horse Racing Association after appearing before the committee. "It's a win-win situation."

Ultimately, what the multibillion-dollar horse racing industry seeks, alongside the larger agribusiness industry to which horse racing contributes some 37,000 jobs, is to level the playing field with riverboat casinos.

But Arlington Park won't bet its future on slot machines, spokesman Thom M. Serafin said.

"We can't model our business in anticipation of something happening," he said. "We're hoping that they'll do something, but we're realistic."