Like
many in the local horse industry, Pompano Park
trainer/driver Michael Deters pushed hard to
bring slots to South Florida's parimutuels.
Back in 2004, when voters were asked to
approve a state constitutional amendment paving
the way for slots, Deters handed out pro-slots
literature at his son's elementary school in
Coconut Creek. Deters and the rest of Pompano's
largely working-class horsemen contributed
$100,000 -- money they had to borrow -- to the
slots campaign.
The referendum passed, but the expected
windfall for horse workers never arrived, Deters
says.
''We got pimped on the legislation,'' he
said. ``That's the gist of it.''
As the Florida Legislature considers a
proposal to expand slot-like machines to
parimutuels statewide, the case of Pompano Park
-- nowadays more known by the name of its new
slots casino, The Isle -- is a cautionary tale.
Though The Isle is the busiest of Broward's
three slots ''racinos,'' Pompano's purses -- the
method by which horsemen are paid -- haven't
doubled like park management said they would
during the lead-up to the public vote.
Nationally, slots are often touted as a way
to keep struggling parimutuels afloat, but once
installed, the slots frequently become the main
attraction. Glitzy new slots rooms receive fine
dining restaurants and other amenities, while
the older horse racing/dog racing/jai-alai part
of the business might operate in an outdated,
decaying building -- if it keeps operating at
all.
''It's obvious . . . everything is 10 times
better where the casino is,'' said Clarence
Wilkins, a recent patron at Hallandale Beach's
Mardi Gras Casino, which features both slot
machines and greyhound races. Mardi Gras
management say the state's high tax rate on
slots leaves little money for dog track
upgrades.
Down the street from Mardi Gras, Gulfstream
Park is the one Broward racino that boasts a
completely new look -- both on the racing and
casino fronts.
The thoroughbred track underwent a $230
million renovation that began before slots
arrived, and was then tweaked to include the
machines.
The harness horse races at Pompano are less
glamorous than their thoroughbred counterparts
at Gulfstream, and Pompano's 45-year-old track
shows its age.
For example, bathrooms in the facility's new
slots casino include fancy video-screen mirrors
that display promotional images while patrons
fix their hair.
WATER-STAINED
Bathrooms in the racing area have
water-stained ceilings and no-frills mirrors --
and in one, a small piece of the wall is
missing.
Frustrated Pompano horsemen took their pay
complaints to court in 2007, but the case is
still pending. Casino management have pushed
back attempts in the Legislature that would make
a written agreement with horsemen a prerequisite
to operating slots.
''We think we run the business and should be
able to negotiate fair purses with them,''
Pompano Park lobbyist Jack Skelding Jr. said.
The casino, he said, ``shouldn't be put in the
position of having to deal with them with a gun
to our head.''
With Tallahassee lawmakers staying out of the
fray, Pompano bears the distinction of being the
only harness-racing track in America where slots
were installed without any state legal
protections to make sure horsemen receive their
fair share, according to the U.S. Trotting
Association.
South Florida's other horse racing ''racinos''
-- Gulfstream and Calder -- hold thoroughbred,
not harness, racing. But there, too, horsemen
are guaranteed a share of slots money.
Gulfstream's horsemen receive 7 percent of
slots revenues, with that share set to go higher
if the state lowers its 50 percent tax rate on
slots. Calder has yet to install slots, but when
it does, its horsemen will enjoy similar
contract terms.
At Pompano, the drivers and trainers work
with no contract and no pay guarantees.
Since slots arrived in 2007, purses have
fluctuated -- sometimes including slots money,
sometimes not.
Casino management has argued that it
fulfilled its pledge to double purses. While the
purses at Pompano have gone up, numbers
compiled by the state's Division of Pari-Mutuel
Wagering show that they've nowhere near doubled.
Pompano management insists slots have been a
blessing for horse racing.
''Had slots not come to Pompano Park when
they did, they would not be racing horses there
anymore,'' Vice President/General Manager
Michael Bloom said. ``They would be out of
business.''
DEBT PAYMENTS
Despite the addition of slots, Bloom said the
facility is still operating in the red because
of its high tax rate and the debt payments
required to pay off the $195 million
construction tab for the new slots area and
poker room.
'Everybody said, `Oh, there's going to be
this giant pot of money,' '' Bloom said.
``There's no money left over.''
Aside from the purses dispute, Pompano's
horsemen complain of other broken promises. Back
in 2005, Pompano's general manager pledged in
writing that ''upon the installation of slot
machines'' the facility would hold at least 180
days of live racing a year.
The track now holds 158 racing days. Next
year that number will drop to 143.
When Pompano's horsemen cobbled together
their $100,000 contribution to the pro-slots
political campaign, they did so on the condition
they be included in meetings with state
lawmakers on the slots issue.
But in court testimony, Pompano
representatives readily acknowledge holding
multiple meetings with lawmakers without the
horsemen present.
''Too many to count,'' one Pompano official
testified.
One key meeting was with then-state Rep. Jack
Seiler. The racetrack was in Seiler's district,
and Seiler says he was concerned about the
horsemen being treated fairly.
The two sides quietly struck a deal. In
exchange for Seiler not adding protections for
the horsemen to a gambling bill he was
sponsoring, Pompano management would increase
the purses it paid.
The private ''memorandum of understanding''
between Seiler and the track guaranteed purses
for the 2007-08 racing season would be $12
million, which Pompano told Seiler was double
the current level.
Except it wasn't close to double, as purses
stood at roughly $8 million the previous year.
Furthermore, the memorandum didn't prevent
Pompano from reducing purses in the future --
something the track has since done.
`NOT MY INTENTION'
''I'm just disappointed to hear that the
purses have gone down. That wasn't my
intention,'' said Seiler, now the mayor of Fort
Lauderdale.
Pompano, and the state's parimutuel industry
in general, are significant campaign donors in
the Legislature. During Seiler's recent
successful run for mayor, several Pompano
lobbyists donated to his campaign.
''There's zero connection between campaign
contributions and this legislation,'' Seiler
said.
The current Senate proposal to allow
slot-like machines at parimutuels statewide
includes a provision designed to avoid the
Pompano outcome -- all facilities that add the
machines would be required to negotiate a
revenue-sharing deal with their respective dog
breeders, horsemen or jai-alai players.
But the bill, should it become law, would
apply only to new ''racinos'' opening in the
future, not existing slots facilities like
Pompano.
