view raw text
:■:;:;: - i- ■■■ New England — By Fred Goliori Tracks Face Financial Crisis, Dario Warns Cannot Boost Mutuel Take or Lower Purses Favors Admissions Increase, No Pass Policy LINCOLN DOWNS, Lincoln, R. I., May 15— B. A. Dario, the padrone who parlayed half-mile Pascoag into Lincoln Downs, a track of major league status in :■:;:;: - i- i New New England; England; a a jitney jitney into into the the i New New England; England; a a jitney jitney into into the the largest automobile agency in the area, and a couple of horses into one of the biggest stables and breeding farms in the nation, obviously is a man who knows how to get things done. And, on a grandiose scale. As the meeting at this track draws to a successful close, Dario, although pleased with the way the Lincoln session has gone, nevertheless issued a word of of warning, warning, pertaining pertaining not not onlv only to to ■■■ of of warning, warning, pertaining pertaining not not onlv only to to his operation but to all tracks in general. It is a vital problem, and one that has been tackled by other tracks in the country. Bluntly it is this— the margin of profit is constantly dwindling at all tracks, expenses for everything mounting daily, while the return for the track is dependent mainly on its share of the mutuel pool. "We have to face it," commented Dario, race tracks will be in trouble in a couple of years unless something is done. In 10 years the cost of everything has doubled. Salaries, maintenance, every form of expenditure has risen. With the percentage agreement with the horsemen, almost half of our share goes back into purses. The rest we have to use to keep a plant in condition all year, not counting the actual cost of operation when the track is running. Now there is nothing wrong in giving 3.1 per cent of the handle to the horsemen. Im all for it, after all I race a big stable of horses myself and I know what the upkeep is. They deserve everything they get. Find Solution at Turnstiles "But," continued Dario, "there has to be a way to insure greater revenue. More taxation on the handle is not the answer. Its already at a peak. Therefore there is only one other place a race track can figure to increase its profit. Thats the gate. Theres no other place. Eventually prices will have to be raised and passes, all passes, be eliminated. General admission to New England tracks is only , probably the lowest in the nation. An increase there would greatly swell the revenue to the track. Now nobody likes to pay more for anything — thats normal — but there comes a time when prices must be raised to keep an operation going. The policy of a tight gate, when it comes to passes is nothing new. Garden State has long been an advocate of such procedure and has practiced it for years. Consequently the New Jersey track has been able to keep improving its plant yearly until it ranks with one of the best. Were not saying that this is all done on the admissions money, as the Garden State handle is about the third highest in the country, but they have been aware of the source of income and have used it to good advantage. This past year the three Miami tracks instituted a closer watch on its passes. All three tracks suffered declines, but it would be playing Cassandra to say that the slump was a customer reaction to the new policy. Economic conditions were mainly responsible and although some resentment to the curtailment of passes " might have been felt, definitely it could have affected only a slight percentage of people. The average person thinks a race track is a mint, just coining money for its operators. They certainly are money makers but stockholders have a right to a profit on their investment. Further Taxation Would be Suicidal Darios idea is sound, because only at the gate can a plant hope to increase its income. Further tax on betting would be suicidal and a reduction of purses to horsemen a worse move. Most stables have a hard time making ends meet as it is. The gate is perhaps the only answer, so it wont be a surprise if in a year or two the admissions are raised and passes reduced drastically, if not completely eliminated. Paradoxically enough, on the very day that Dario was discussing the need for a close gate, there were 22,888 fans at the track, a good throng for a Tuesday, but the population was increased that day for only one reason. All of them got in free, the occasion being "Appreciation Day" in honor of Lincolns tenth year of operation. With 10 races the handle just went over ,000,000, so it is clear that a good portion of the crowd came mainly for the raffle on two automobiles held after the last race. One major improvement planned by Dario next year is the construction of a couple of new barns, a sorely needed item. The new stabling room will provide accommodations for over 100 horses and help relieve the racing secretarys problem of getting sufficient horses not to mention the chance of attracting newer and better stables to the area. Also on the "coming events" program is a new turf club. Contracts have already been let to enlarge the present skytop lounge to twice its capacity. The performers in the show are to be taken care of also, a new track kitchen and an enlarged jockeys quarters being among the blueprints for Lincoln Downs in 1958.
