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Michigan Horse Track Sues Governor Over Casinos
DETROIT, MICHIGAN --
Michigan horse racing concerns, including Northville Downs, have combined to file a federal lawsuit against the governor and state attorney general. The suit alleges that state laws have effectively prevented competitive balance and that their industry is being driven out of business by preferential treatment for other forms of gambling.
A 2004 initiative placed on the ballot amended the Michigan constitution, requiring both state and local referendums before any new gambing can be introduced. The casinos instate are excluded by the amendment.
Tracks would like to install video lottery terminals, and allow telephone betting for gamblers dining during races, but are constrained by the amendment.
The suit claims the favorable treatment given casinos violates several Constitutional guarantees, including clauses concerning due process, commerce, and equal protection.
Horse race wagering is down almost 50 % in the ten years since legal casinos in Detroit were opened. Great Lakes Downs, the state's last thoroughbred track closed in 2007, and the harness track at Saginaw closed in 2005. A plan to develop a new thoroughbred track in Romulus has been abandoned.
Plaintiffs' attorney Phillip Maxwell said, "Without legislative relief, you will see the end of horse racing in Michigan within three years."
While the debacle over the dire economic situation for the horse racing industry continues to haunt tracks around the country, legal conditions should at least allow the tracks to play on an even field. Michigan is not required to subsidize their tracks with other gambling, as other states have, but at least the laws should not work to prevent them from attempting to compete.
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