Unable to weather the combined threats of online gambling and a dismal economy, the Santa Maria Fairpark will end its stake in pari-mutuel off-track betting at The Horse Man’s Club come May 31.
The club—one of 31 satellite wagering facilities left in the state network—opened at the Fairpark in 1987. It simulcasts horse races Thursdays through Sundays and accepts wagers at teller windows and automatic betting machines.
“It’s got to remain profitable,” Fairpark CEO Dennis Pearson said. “We’ve lost money in the last two years, we’re continuing to lose money this year, and we cannot continue to sustain that operation under the current circumstances.”
But the date won’t mark the death knell of betting at the Fairpark just yet. The Fairpark will lease the club to the nonprofit group Southern California Off Track Wagering Inc. (SCOTWINC), which will take over betting operations for another 90 days. Clients will still be able to place bets, and regulars probably won’t notice a change during the transition, Pearson said.
SCOTWINC, an independent, non-governmental organization, is looking into establishing “mini-satellites” in restaurants, bars, and card clubs throughout the state. In 2007, state legislators approved 45 such off-track operations in an effort to save the sagging satellite wagering system.
Officials with SCOTWINC didn’t respond to requests for an interview by press time, but they have said the current business model employed by the state-controlled wagering network isn’t sustainable and has suffered significant losses every year since 2005, a development Pearson blames on online betting.
“You can get up in the morning, get your cup of coffee, sit in your lounge chair with your slippers and bathrobe on, and play the bets on television and the computer,” he said. “People just aren’t coming down to the facilities like they used to.”
The once-popular Earl’s Place at the Earl Warren Showgrounds in Santa Barbara, which opened the same year as Horse Man’s, closed in 2009. Other satellite wagering facilities in Southern California are facing similar financial woes and are being threatened with closure.
During the takeover, SCOTWINC will employ some of the club’s current part-time employees, but two state employees will lose their jobs. If SCOTWINC doesn’t renew the lease after 90 days, Pearson said, the Fairpark would rent out the club for weddings, birthdays, and other social functions.
“It’s just a tough era right now for the horse-racing field,” Pearson said. “We have our diehards that go over there every day and they love it. They have a good time and they hate to see it close, but we have to look at the economic base of it, and it’s just not there for us.”
This article appears in May 26 – Jun 2, 2011.