The last sentence of the October, 2009 post may have been extremely prophetic. It stated, "what is lost in this discussion is another loser - the Montana horse racing industry. By placing their trust in the Board of Horse Racing, they placed a bet that may have doomed live racing in the state." How true those words may have been. The Board of Horse Racing continued its cavalcade of errors by stripping the simulcast wagering license from Montana Simulcast Partners, an entity that had been profitable and providing needed revenue for approximately 20 years, with a new provider, which didn't even last 2 years before being shut down amongst a torrent of complaints. The Board then doubled down on stupid by not only NOT trying to revive Montana Simulcast Partners last year, but took over the simulcast wagering operation itself!
It did not turn out well. Barely a year later, the Board of Horse Racing, due to its mismanagement of its operations, to include the simulcast wagering operation, had generated a budget deficit of over $500,000. Those that looked into the Board's operation noted that the Board even lost money running the wagering operation. As a "closing the barn door after the horse has left" move, the Executive Secretary of the Board was fired. More details of this fiasco committed by the incompetent Montana Board of Horse Racing is contained in the story from the AP in this article published by the Washington Examiner.
What is being attempted is to try and figure out a way to revive the simulcast wagering operation within the next couple of months, in addition to implementing other fixes to the obviously disfunctional and inept Montana Board of Horse Racing. Will it be enough to save live racing in Montana, or is it too late to save the patient and the only thing to do is pull the plug?
No comments:
Post a Comment