... the Legislature is on the cusp of passing a plan that both the horse track owners and the equine industry hope will put them on a path toward survival, perhaps even help reopen some of the tracks that have had to shutter over the years.
The legislative plan switches from a complicated formula of doling out winnings from a big pool to horse owners and tracks to a system in which the money generated at each of the two tracks generally stays at that track to pay prizes to winning horses and cover expenses of the track.
It also cracks down on out-of-state betting operations, making it a crime for anyone without a license for live horse racing in Michigan to accept wagers over the Internet from Michigan residents. This is the biggest plus for horse track owners, who want to capture the betting that’s now going on over the Internet.
