view raw text
REFLECTIONS By NELSON DUNST AN CHURCHILL DOWNS Louisville Ky May 1 In Louisville last Tues ¬ day night we listened to the speech of Ogden Phipps before the members and guests of the Thoroughbred Breeders Association A member of The Jockey Club breeder and racing owner Phipps has one of the most respected names in this country His words carry great weight in racing and no one will dis ¬ agree with his statement The barrier before racing is getting more and more forbidden The barrier of course is taxes on parimutuels Racing has taken a terrific beating in New York Some time ago the state moved in on the original equal division of 10 per cent of the pari mutuel take between it and the track five per cent to the state five per cent to the track and changed that to six per cent for the state and four per cent for the track Then came the ODwyer Bite another five per cent After the state compelled the city to give this up the New York state legislature voted to take it over The result is as you know that tracks in the New York City area do not get sufficient volume to make their four per cent take practical Racing in New York City is not an attractive investment either to improve existing tracks or to create new facilities New York City has also im ¬ posed an admission tax equal to the existing state tax and both are in addition to the federal excise tax Everyone in racing will agree that New York has taken a terrific beating in taxation and by that we are referring to flat racing Whether Phipps has the right solution in appealing to the press to mold public opinion is a point we doubt The trouble with racing is that the very organizations of which Phipps is a member have not Phipps Address Causes Controversy Reviews Tax Trend in Various States Says Press Should Mold Public Opinion How About Jockey Clubt TRA Leading assumed the leadership for the press or the public to follow He makes no mention of the highly important part The Jockey Club the Thoroughbred Racing Associa ¬ tions and the five New York racing associations should play in protesting overtaxation in New York state In the days of the ODwyer Bite the New York State Racing Commission was vigorously outspoken in con ¬ demning it as unconstitutional and little more than a political grab Then New York state with Senator Wicks doing his stuff grabbed the pie that ODwyer had baked With the exception of the New York division of the HBPA not one organization publicly at least pro ¬ tested to the lawmakers at Albany Recently when the harness racing mess in New York state resulted in new legislation flat racing had the full support of the New York city newspapers including this newspaper for a more equitable distribution of the take The New York race tracks were the ones who fell down badly in refusing to fight for equal status with the harness tracks who even now receive a far larger share of the take They had an opportunity to take their case to the public and re ¬ fused to do so Why The Jockey Club failed to supply the necessary leadership leadershipA A A A AEarly Early in his address Phipps said The first concern of thoroughbred racing must be that of the public We have heard that expression many many times but in New York its like the weather no one ever does anything about it For years we have heard about the dream track but with one short and sharp statement Governor Dewey killed all hope for such a track in the immediate years to come New York racing associations will not build a new track until there is a more equitable distribu ¬ tion of the take Governor Dewey has no interest in the sport beyond the revenue it provides the state and judging by his actions he is going to squeeze every last dollar out of it regardless of what it means to the sport in the future Judging from his television talks he has all the facts and figures of all departments at his finger tips but having made his decision he studiously avoids any reference to easing the tax on flat racing but at the same time gives the harness track owners a much better return The Wicks Committee had one purpose and once they were successful in putting their bill through the legisla ¬ ture they folded their tents listing their accomplishments in a neat little booklet The message must get to the New York lawmakers if racing in New York is to maintain the position it has held for so many years Phipps went on to say It is only by protecting the public that we can protect ourselves from these grabs into the parimutuel till This is the publics money that is being taken After reasonable and I mean reasonable taxes and a proper share for the track the public ought to be able to have its own money and can only protect the public by resisting these takes Who pray has done the resisting Then Phipps adds Public opinion is important in helping racing to hold the tax line Above all others you gentlemen of the press are key to public opinion We of racing would appreciate it if you would tell the people the facts over and over and over again againContinued Continued on Page FortySeven REFLECTIONS REFLECTIONSBy By NELSON DUNSTAN Continued from Page FiftyTwo FiftyTwowhenever whenever the opportunity so presents itself The interest of racing is the public interest This is also the interest that you and your newspapers publications wire services radio and television and other media repre ¬ sent There is no better time to adapt in behalf of the soprt that typewritertesting phrase now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of racing We will all agree as Phipps says that one of racings first obligations to to keep the sport clean The state racing commission The Jockey Club and the Thoroughbred Racing Asso ¬ ciations are to be commended for the fine work they have done along these lines But why do they not also speak their piece openly to the lawmakers in the state capi tol When the tax was returned to 15 per cent there was not one protest that we know about aboutA A A A ANo No one can dispute the sincerity of Ogden Phipps address but many will dis ¬ agree that the press and the public should go to bat for racing organizations that profit although not adequately from rac ¬ ing It is time that all faced the facts and admit that leadership is the one thing lack ¬ ing in the fight against overtaxation Being st te appointees the racing commis soners can hardly be expected to join in the fight although they did so when ODwyer slapped the five per cent city tax on the sport If The Jockey Club the Thoroughbred Racing Associations and the heads of the five New York tracks would assume the leadership that is their obliga ¬ tion they would soon find that the press and the public or the great majority of both would support them There is no doubt in this writers mind that conditions in Kentucky and Maryland stem directly from New York and the three bodies would be doing the sport throughout the country a service if they filed vigorous protests against the conditions as they exist today As Phipps said no one questions the prin ¬ ciple that racing sohuld be taxed No one j disputes the responsibility of racing to do its share in providing revenue for the state Dr Charles Strub of Santa Anita recently warned Continuing inroads of taxation must at some point make it thoroughly impractical and unattractive for the racing fan to continue his attendance and partici ¬ pation How long will the New York fan continue to do so If there is to be any protest let it start with The Jockey Club and other organizations that logically should take the leadership
