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Ohio racing decline hurts county budgets

Fairs Fund money is distributed evenly among Ohio's 94 county and independent fair operators, and can provide a significant portion of total funding to smaller fair budgets. The 2006 Ohio Fairs Fund totaled $1,922,214, based on taxes on 2006 betting at commercial tracks, down from $2,856,291 in 2000. The last time the Fairs Fund fell under $2 million was in 1978.

"This is real money that our Ohio fairs count on," says John Mossbarger, past president of the Ohio Harness Horsemen's Association. "At its highest point, the Ohio Fairs Fund directed $30,000 to every Ohio fair. In 2006, it fell to $20,449."

The Ohio legislature created the Fairs Fund in 1957. The tax on betting, or handle, at commercial race tracks funded $453,530 in its first year. The fund reached $1 million in 1968, $2 million in 1978 and $3 million in 1988 before peaking at $3.07 million in 1989.

"The lion's share of state support for Ohio fairs comes from the Fairs Fund," Mossbarger says. "For all of our fairs, $10,000 is a lot of money that they definitely miss."

Ohio fairs provide a platform for some of the nation's premier harness racing, including the second leg of the Pacing Triple Crown, the Little Brown Jug at the Delaware County Fair. The 62nd Little Brown Jug is Sept. 20. Seventy Ohio agricultural societies conduct horse races among the 94 county and independent fairs throughout Ohio.

"Harness racing is an Ohio tradition best known through the Little Brown Jug, that brings tens of thousands of visitors to the best-attended harness race in the world," Mossbarger says. "But both new and old fans can experience it at 69 other fairs in every part of Ohio. I hope our legislators will realize the importance of horse racing at fair and commercial tracks so we can preserve it before it is too late."

Race purses at Ohio commercial tracks, lower than in surrounding states supported by additional gambling, continue to be squeezed by ongoing regional gambling expansion.

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