More bad news for Ohio standardbred breeders, but we persist

By: Dr. JOHN MOSSBARGER
Dec. 18, 2007

The latest news for Ohio horse breeders is discouraging, but I’m still going to soldier on in the hopes of change.

Horse racing has had its ups and downs during the 40 years my family has been in the breeding business, and I have to hope the state will take action to support another industry upward cycle, so our business can continue for future decades. On paper the flight of breeding operations from Ohio is obvious. You have only to look at the numbers: 1,261 standardbred mares bred in 2007, compared with 3,383 in 1996. But, breeding operations such as our Midland Acres remain here to support our local and state economies, although even we have lost some of our top breeding stallions to other states.

It is more and more difficult for me to be a cheerleader for our industry, and yet I feel I have no choice but to continue speaking out. Although our breeding farm revenue and foal production is down, we are still making an important contribution as an indigenous Ohio business employing several workers. Along with our breeding and training counterparts in the state equine industry, we are part of a 16,000-job segment in the agricultural sector that we won’t be able to replace if Ohio horse racing continues its decline unchecked.Here’s the thing: it may make me sound like a broken record, but expanding gambling here in Ohio is the solution to keep our racing industry sound.

The standardbred mares bred numbers in competitor states with expanded gambling bear out my claim. Here are the gains posted in Pennsylvania, New York and Indiana:Standardbred mares bred2006 2007PA 2771 2794NY 1698 2197IN 1530 1649See, these three states are all more attractive to the horse racing industry than Ohio because revenue from expanded gambling flows directly to the industry in each state. In Pennsylvania, the latest neighbor state to approve expanded gambling at horse race tracks, the breeding gains have continued for years. And that’s mostly because race purses in states with expanded gambling are literally twice as high, or even higher, than purses in Ohio.

There’s no magic involved here. Expanded gambling is not our industry salvation, but a necessary tool to compete that we don’t have in Ohio. And since we have to have it in order to survive, our Ohio leaders are going to continue hearing me and my colleagues talk about it. Our elected representatives will be in good company, because legislature-driven campaigns are already gaining momentum for 2008 in Kentucky and Maryland.We’ll have to wait and see whether Ohio voters get another chance in 2008 to consider the merits of expanded gambling. When they do a chance to vote again, though, I want to make sure they’re aware of the positive impact it will have on Ohio horse racing. Saying no to expanded gambling is saying no to Ohio horse racing’s future – and that is not an acceptable answer.