Charles Town stakes cut results from dwindling share of slots revenue

Charles Town’s horsemen are telling us something.

Let’s hope the racing industry—in Maryland and elsewhere—is listening.

“Slot machines, in themselves, are not a panacea” is the warning from Randy Funkhouser, president of the Charles Town Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (HBPA).

Since slots were introduced at Charles Town in 1997, West Virginia’s breeding and racing industry has prospered as never before.

But the purse account’s share of the revenue for 2006 won’t stretch far enough to cover the entire schedule of stakes announced earlier this season; as a result, 26 open stakes have been trimmed from the program.

As with most situations involving race tracks and horsemen, the issues are clouded by various different agendas. A sizeable contingent of local owners and trainers would prefer to have as few open stakes as possible—their concern being that these races are often won by out-of-state stables who siphon off purse money that might otherwise be used to support the Charles Town economy.

The overarching issue, however, is the horsemen’s share of slots revenue. Last year, for the first time, revenue to the purse account from slots decreased, as the state began collecting an excise tax that kicks in when slots play reaches a certain level. Also in a new and unwelcome twist, horsemen were forced to turn over a substantial chunk of their slots revenue—more than $4.9 million—to the West Virginia workers’ compensation fund.

Slots can be a boon to racing, but the original legislation must provide a fair share for purses and safeguards to keep the state from using horsemen’s revenue to bridge its fiscal gaps. Charles Town, unfortunately, is becoming a prime example of what can happen when the purse account doesn’t have that kind of protection.