Meadows Racetrack bucks industry trend of decline
North American horse racing is saddled with nagging issues: public interest declined; 21-and-unders aren’t engaged; and allegations of cheating and animal abuse are widespread.
The “Sport of Kings” is still feeling its oats in England, France and Italy, and gained a foothold in Hong Kong and Australia. But its crown has been teetering a bit in the United States and Canada – from Bangor, Maine, to Brownsville, Pa., to Brownsville, Texas, to Vancouver.
Two officials from The Meadows Racetrack & Casino acknowledge the issues and concerns, but believe there are solutions. They are buoyed by racing-related upswings that occurred at their “entertainment destination” on 80 acres in North Strabane Township.
“The world has changed. People are not as supportive of the industry as they used to be,” said Sean Sullivan, vice president and general manager of the harness racing/casino operation. “We’re hoping to keep it alive and (make it) more vibrant again. We have to be more efficient and more creative.”
Kevin Decker, director of racetrack operations, knows firsthand how vibrant racing can be. He grew up within view, and earshot, of the facility during its halcyon race days in the pre-casino era.
“We could be in a better spot,” he said, “but we see possible growth out there and can see possible rebirth.”
The Meadows did, indeed, experience growth in 2014, according to figures provided by the track. Its live on-track handle last year was 20 percent higher than in 2009, and its average daily purse of $125,000 was 166.7 percent better than the $47,000 available in 2003. The 52-year-old harness track drew more than $100 million in out-of-state betting last year.
“We hadn’t done that since the late ’90s,” Sullivan said.
What’s more, the local track will have 208 race days in 2015, more than any Pennsylvania track with standardbreds. And after shuttering three off-track betting sites over the past three years, leaving only Harmar in Western Pennsylvania, The Meadows plans to open an OTB venue in Latrobe.
As with many tracks – harness and thoroughbred – over the past two decades, The Meadows struggled for a while. Unlike many, it appears to be rebounding. And unlike a number of them, it has a casino to lean upon.
That mantra of efficiency and creativity certainly helped lift The Meadows racing, but the casino had a larger impact, providing millions of dollars for upgrades, better quality trotters and pacers, and a healthier atmosphere.
It’s a bet that is paying off.
Act 71, a.k.a. the Pennsylvania Race Horse Development and Gaming Act, was signed into law July 5, 2004, legalizing casino gambling in the commonwealth. Slots play began in 2006, table games in 2010.
The Meadows launched a temporary casino in June 2007 before opening its current venue in July 2009. It is one of the largest casinos in the eastern United States and one of 12 in Pennsylvania, all of which are partners with the commonwealth and the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, which oversees casino gambling in the state.
Three of these facilities are in Western Pennsylvania. Unlike Rivers Casino (Pittsburgh) and Lady Luck Casino Nemacolin (Farmington, Fayette County), The Meadows is in partnership with a horse racing facility – a complex commonly known as a racino. It is owned by Cannery Casino Resorts of Las Vegas.
These dozen casinos generate scads of tax dollars for the state. Pennsylvania gets 55 percent of the slots revenue and 15.5 percent of table games money, then devotes the funds to property tax relief (34 percent); the horse racing industry (12 percent); economic development and tourism (5 percent); and local share allocations (4 percent), serving local and county governments.
Revenue from The Meadows has benefited Washington County and North Strabane Township, the host municipality, for a number of years. The Local Share Account, which funds eligible programs countywide, exists solely because of it.
The casino’s impact on its sister operation has been formidable, as well.
“There’s no question, tracks are being challenged. That’s why casinos were brought in,” Sullivan said. “A lot of tracks have had to learn how to survive. Having racing as it once was is a difficult challenge.”
That’s why Meadows management is bullish on the entertainment destination concept – and being efficient and creative. Not only are there slots, table games and ponies, but concerts, boxing and martial arts matches, dining and bowling. The Kentucky Derby, the first Saturday in May, is a special event that annually attracts thousands to watch and bet on the iconic race. So does The Adios every August. Its estimated purse in 2014 was $450,000.
Gaming provided a lot of horsepower statewide. In its seventh annual Benchmark Report, the Gaming Control Board said in 2013 – the most recent year for which statistics were available – 11 percent of revenue from slots play went to racing and agriculture. That amounted to $252 million-plus, with about $209 million going to racing. Also that year, according to the report, casinos with racing invested about $6 million in improvements to stable and backside areas. (Visit gamingcontrolboard.pa.gov.)
The Meadows covered its backside, investing more than $10 million on improvements in the back stretch and stable areas. Six of the 22 barns were completely new, including ventilation, windows, surveillance and fire protection.
“Ten million dollars later, we’ve pretty much accomplished what was necessary,” Decker said, adding the quality of horses racing there also improved markedly over the past decade.
He and Sullivan said the Meadows Standardbred Owners Association is a linchpin in forging improvements at the track. MSOA is a nonprofit organization of local horsemen and women that works with management and provides a generous amount of funding for projects.
“The MSOA wants to see (racing) grow as much as our company does,” Decker said.
There was a time, long past, when horse racing, baseball and boxing were at the forefront of America’s sports consciousness. They jockeyed – pardon the unavoidable pun – for top billing in different regions. Baseball is the only one of the three still in that rarefied status, and that was passed by football.
Racing’s popularity waned, and its image absorbed some concussive hits. The industry, already perceived as seamy in some quarters, was rocked by a March 19, 2014, article in the New York Times (“PETA accuses two trainers of cruelty to horses”) detailing physical and drug abuse of racehorses.
Still, the sport is exciting and appealing – especially if you have money down. There is a strong core of ardent followers. And there is potential to grow again – if managed carefully.
“We’re not giving up on expanding racing,” Sullivan said of his track. “You hear a lot of gloom and doom, but we’re doing what we can.”
One of management’s many initiatives is to enhance the track’s image. More than a year ago, they decided to omit “Racetrack” from references to their complex, going simply with “Meadows Casino.”
That changed. Racetrack is back, with equal billing.
“We did pump up the volume on the casino,” Sullivan said. “Part of the reason was we were branding it for a younger audience. But it’s on the letterhead, ‘Meadows Racetrack & Casino.’ There is no doubt, this is racetrack AND casino.”
That’s pumping up the volume on racing, which, in North Strabane, may make major noise again.