Blagojevich Approves Subsidy from Riverboats for Horse Racing
The Illinois horse racing business will get a share of money gambled at casinos under legislation signed Friday by Gov. Rod Blagojevich. The state's four largest casinos must give up 3 percent of their receipts, or about $36 million a year.
Sixty percent will be used to increase the prize money awarded to winning horses, while the rest will be used to improve and promote race tracks. Blagojevich also signed legislation reducing taxes on the Fairmount Racetrack in Collinsville, near St. Louis.
"These bills will help protect the jobs of thousands of hardworking people who depend on the horse racing industry for their livelihood," the Democratic governor said in a statement. Casino gambling has siphoned off gamblers from horse racing since the state's first riverboat was introduced in 1991, reducing wagering at the tracks by $350 million, or 42 percent, advocates say.
June 1, 2006
Posted By Bob Hartman
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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