{"id":242757,"date":"2022-11-11T20:17:19","date_gmt":"2022-11-12T02:17:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=242757"},"modified":"2022-11-14T11:46:08","modified_gmt":"2022-11-14T17:46:08","slug":"california-thoroughbred-owners-vow-to-keep-fighting-for-sports-betting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/california-thoroughbred-owners-vow-to-keep-fighting-for-sports-betting\/","title":{"rendered":"California Thoroughbred Owners Vow to Keep Fighting for Sports Betting"},"content":{"rendered":"

The leader of the organization representing California horse owners says the group was \u201cdisappointed but not surprised\u201d to see voters reject a ballot measure allowing racetracks in the state to host sportsbooks.<\/p>\n

\"Del<\/a>
A shot of Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, one of four state-licensed thoroughbred race tracks in California. California horsemen were “disappointed but not surprised” this week, as a ballot measure that would have allowed the tracks to host brick-and-mortar sportsbooks, was soundly defeated. (Image: Del Mar\/Twitter)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Gary Fenton, chairman of the Thoroughbred Owners of California, issued the statement on Thursday afternoon, two days after the general election that included Proposition 26.<\/p>\n

\n

That constitutional amendment, proposed by tribal gaming nations, sought to expand gaming at their casinos. It also included a sports betting measure allowing in-person wagering at tribal casinos and the four state-licensed tracks \u2013 Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, Golden Gate Fields, Los Alamitos Race Course, and Santa Anita Park.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

However, while California tribes raised more than $237 million in this election cycle, they focused nearly all their efforts on defeating Proposition 27, an amendment proposed by national sports betting operators that would have legalized online wagering statewide.<\/p>\n

Both Props Soundly Defeated<\/h2>\n

Vote counts were not complete by Friday afternoon. California mails ballots to residents, and as long as they\u2019re postmarked by Election Day, they\u2019ll be counted. That’s as long as they arrive to county election officials within a week after the election. However, the results to date show both sports betting measures were en route to losing<\/a> by very substantial margins.<\/p>\n

According to The New York Times<\/em> results, 70.1% of voters have cast \u201cNo\u201d votes on the measure. That\u2019s out of nearly 6.1 million ballots counted, or 60% of the expected vote.<\/strong><\/p>\n

But voters are even more opposed to Prop 27. With 61% of the vote \u2013 nearly 6.2 million ballots \u2013 counted, “No” leads “Yes” by a 5-to-1 margin. According to the Times results, only in one of California\u2019s 58 counties did Prop 27 have more than 20% support. That\u2019s Imperial County, where voters have rejected it 77-23, with 48% of the vote counted.<\/p>\n

Horsemen ‘Highly Motivated’<\/h2>\n

In his statement, Fenton expressed hope that a solution could be found within the next couple of years.<\/p>\n

We are disappointed but not surprised that Prop 26 did not pass and will do our part to find a positive outcome that can channel sports gaming demand responsibly to return maximum benefit to the State as well as provide a top-quality customer experience at our well-established and regulated racetracks in California in the next election cycle in 2024,\u201d he said. \u201cThe California racing industry remains highly motivated to pursue this initiative, working collaboratively with key partners, to join the list of 35 states that currently offer legal sports wagering.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

California\u2019s racing community wanted sportsbooks at tracks because horsemen saw it as a much-needed new revenue stream. In many states, horse racing purses are supplemented by other forms of gaming. That is not the case in California.<\/p>\n

Tribes Say They’re in Control<\/h2>\n

But given the current voting totals, a sports betting measure on the 2024 California ballot may not pass. Tribal leaders, who likely hold all or most of the cards, have made it clear<\/a> where they stand.<\/p>\n

\n

In an Election Night statement released by \u201cCalifornians for Tribal Sovereignty and Safe Gaming,\u201d the tribal-backed anti-Prop 27 group, San Manuel Band of Mission Indians Chief Intergovernmental Affairs Officer Dan Little said voters made it clear that tribal nations \u2013 not out-of-state corporations \u2013 have the exclusive right to operate casino gaming.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThose corporations should be aware that California Tribes will always protect their people and their sovereignty, as well as work with the people of California to improve our collective well-being, now and into the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pechanga Band of Indians Chairman Mark Macarro made similar comments in a statement provided by the “Coalition for Safe, Responsible Gaming,” a tribal-backed committee that supported Prop 26 and opposed Prop 27.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s clear voters don\u2019t want a massive expansion of online sports betting, and they trust Indian tribes when it comes to responsible gaming,\u201d Macarro said. \u201cAs tribes, we will analyze these results and collectively have discussions about what the future of sports wagering might look like in California.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The leader of the organization representing California horse owners says the group was \u201cdisappointed but not surprised\u201d to see voters reject a ballot measure allowing racetracks in the state to host sportsbooks. Gary Fenton, chairman of the Thoroughbred Owners of California, issued the statement on Thursday afternoon, two days after the general election that included […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":242758,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[83553,1074,18456],"tags":[81905,81900,80968,81862],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCalifornia Thoroughbred Owners Vow to Keep Fighting for Sports Betting<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"California's four thoroughbred race tracks would have been allowed to host sportsbooks if voters approved Prop 26 on Election Day.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"California Thoroughbred Owners Vow to Keep Fighting for Sports Betting\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"California's four thoroughbred race tracks would have been allowed to host sportsbooks if voters approved Prop 26 on Election Day.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/california-thoroughbred-owners-vow-to-keep-fighting-for-sports-betting\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-11-12T02:17:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-11-14T17:46:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Del_Mar-scaled.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Steve Bittenbender\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Steve Bittenbender\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/california-thoroughbred-owners-vow-to-keep-fighting-for-sports-betting\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/california-thoroughbred-owners-vow-to-keep-fighting-for-sports-betting\/\",\"name\":\"California Thoroughbred Owners Vow to Keep Fighting for Sports Betting\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/california-thoroughbred-owners-vow-to-keep-fighting-for-sports-betting\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/california-thoroughbred-owners-vow-to-keep-fighting-for-sports-betting\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Del_Mar-scaled.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-11-12T02:17:19+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-11-14T17:46:08+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/eb30e765d812fc9b38b333f8d13068b2\"},\"description\":\"California's four thoroughbred race tracks would have been allowed to host sportsbooks if voters approved Prop 26 on Election Day.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/california-thoroughbred-owners-vow-to-keep-fighting-for-sports-betting\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/california-thoroughbred-owners-vow-to-keep-fighting-for-sports-betting\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/california-thoroughbred-owners-vow-to-keep-fighting-for-sports-betting\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Del_Mar-scaled.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Del_Mar-scaled.jpeg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707,\"caption\":\"A shot of Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, one of four state-licensed thoroughbred race tracks in California. 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