This week marks the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby — America’s premiere celebration of horse racing. This year’s derby offered a record purse payment, fueled in large part by technological advances that have brought new ways for racing fans to enjoy pari-mutuel wagering in Kentucky.
Forty years ago, Minnesota voters legalized pari-mutuel betting on horse racing. Once this constitutional amendment was approved, it took time for horse racing to succeed in Minnesota. Thirty years ago, my father and I, along with Dale Schenian, purchased the Canterbury Downs track after it closed, hoping to keep Minnesota racing alive.
Today, Canterbury Park is a publicly-traded company with thousands of shareholders, and we attract more than one million visitors to our property annually. For three decades, we have worked closely with the horse industry, our communities, state regulators and legislators, achieving the goals of:
- growing interest in horse racing,
- providing purses that sustain the horse industry in Minnesota, and
- serving as a good employer and host for those who work at and visit Canterbury Park and our card casino.
As we approach our 30th season of live racing as Canterbury Park, we continue to work with those same goals in mind.
Unfortunately, horse racing has reached a crossroads nationally. States like Kentucky that have adopted strategies to enhance purses are watching their racing thrive, while states that have ignored racing have seen tracks close. We believe that many Minnesotans want horse racing to continue to thrive here and for the economic benefits to increase, but that outcome is threatened unless racetracks are part of a thoughtful plan about how gaming will continue to grow in Minnesota.
We don’t believe this is an issue only for racetracks. In fact, Canterbury Park strongly recommends that the Minnesota Legislature develop a plan that includes the needs of racetracks, the twenty-one tribal casinos and the more than 1,000 charities that sponsor games in bars and restaurants across the state. Each of these operators of gaming are providing a unique set of economic and community benefits within Minnesota.
- Racetracks support a horse industry with economic benefits exceeding $400 million per year, employing thousands of people directly at tracks and in agricultural businesses throughout the state.
- Tribal casino revenues provide an important stream of community development dollars for their nations’ members.
- Charities support local organizations that are investing in improving the quality of life in their communities.
- Minnesota’s state lottery, also approved by voters, supports the Environmental Trust Fund, making investments to sustain natural resources.
Each of these groups has proven to be a trusted operator of gaming for decades. But today, each of these groups is threatened by the same competitive pressures as internet gaming breaks down the walls of state and tribal regulation. Yet the legislative debate is not treating all forms of gaming equally.
This session, the Legislature is considering bills that would ban Historical Horse Racing, a form of pari-mutuel betting that has increased racing purses in Kentucky and other states. The Legislature is also considering bills that would exclude the racetracks from owning licenses in sports betting, an ironic result since only racetracks have experience managing betting on live sporting events in Minnesota.
Other bills were introduced this year to limit existing card room games at racetracks that have provided critical revenue for racing purses, and changes to charitable gaming in the 2023 session have been criticized statewide as threatening the viability of local charities.
This effort to pick winners and losers as gaming expands is unprecedented in Minnesota. We should be approaching this gaming discussion differently, seeking the broadest economic and community benefits from new gaming while providing appropriate regulation to prevent abuse and addiction.
A failure by state policymakers to adopt a balanced gaming solution among the racetracks, tribal casinos and charitable gaming will almost certainly result in irreparable damage to Minnesota’s horse/agricultural industry and the employees of the state’s two racetracks — an avoidable consequence that will jeopardize the future of Minnesota’s horse racing.
For two years, we have shared this message with legislators: the broadest benefits will come from bringing all of these parties together and setting a clear direction for new gaming in Minnesota. If we are all at the table, working together, Minnesota will get this right.
Randy Sampson is the CEO of Canterbury Park Holding Corporation.
