Gaming News

Visa rules leave horses without helpers

SARATOGA SPRINGS -- As reported by the Times-Union: "A shortage of immigrant workers recently reminded the horse racing industry that there can be no wine and roses without grooms and hot walkers.

"More stringent rules in distributing work visas and delays in processing the applications at the U.S. Department of Labor prevented the mostly Hispanic work force from reporting to annual spring training jobs at Saratoga Race Course and other state tracks.

"At Saratoga, the absence of the foreign workers, most of them Mexican nationals, threatened preparations for some of the world's top horses -- some valued in the millions of dollars -- for what the public expects to be six weeks of highly competitive racing, which opened Wednesday..."

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