Peak horse racing drama this week on the Casino Front.

RED SEVEN. At Hawthorne, a banking glitch has turned into a "banking relationship issue." They have a license to open a casino for about 5 years and they are probably as close to closing as any track could be after cancelling their harness racing for a 3rd straight weekend. Definitely, a place in the "Red."

LIBERTY BELL. In Florida, Gulfstream has 500 slot machines but is entitled to open 2000 machines. This week the decoupling issue started up again with the Florida House passing a bill to allow for decoupling. The fight will happen in the Senate as it did last year. Let Freedom Ring. (To be clear, I do hope they defeat decoupling but eventually we know the end of this story). Thayer stated on the Beem Show that Ocala among others is one viable long term option that could be opened in a relatively short amount of time to have racing.

CHERRIES. In California, Santa Anita attempted to legally open Historical Racing Type Machines aka Slots when there is no clear law that allows it. Tonight, law enforcement showed up and shut down the machines. It is almost as if Stronach seeks the easiest and fastest way to push for a faster demise to be able to escape racing at SA.

Only in horse racing could folks screw up a license to print money in the form of casino slot machines (and parimutuel wagering). And only Stronach would open machines where they couldn't and meanwhile, they are entitled to 1500 more at Gulfstream and have shown no interest in expanding that operation.

The proof that people really aren't all that bright and that more than likely they were born on third base rather than practicing all their lives to hit triples at the professional level is more evident in the nepotistic world of horse racing than anywhere else I have ever observed.

Wild Times. But no WILD Card Symbol is showing up to keep Racing Relevant and Thriving as a WINNER long term at these locations.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/17/2026 09:36PM by Fairmount1.