SUSAN ERLER, Times of Northwest Indiana
serler@nwitimes.com

MERRILLVILLE | Northwest Indiana's only off-track betting facility is banking on newly legalized track-side slot machines to help it come from behind.

Merrillville OTB posted losses of nearly $3 million in the past two years, said Rick Moore, president and general manager of Hoosier Park, which operates a race track in Anderson and off-track betting parlors in Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, as well as in Merrillville.

The downturn came as interest in horse racing has dropped, especially among young adults, Moore said.

"We missed marketing to an entire generation. We're paying for that omission now.

"We're hoping through the introduction of slot machines at race tracks to expand our demographics and get people interested," Moore said.

Legislation was approved in May allowing 4,000 slot machines split between the state's two horse racing tracks, Hoosier Park and Indiana Downs, in Shelbyville.

So-called racinos in some of the other 11 states that permit track-side slot machines have proven a boon, with profits helping to improve race-horse quality and generate higher purses.

By late last month, Hoosier Park owner Centaur Inc. had announced plans to buy 19 acres to expand the pari-mutuel track in Anderson in order to add a slots parlor expected to open in 2008.

The Indiana Downs slots facility could open by late this year.

It's not yet known how slot machines track-side will affect affiliated off-track betting parlors, said Jeffrey Smith, CEO of racing for Centaur Inc.

But, "the fact that it puts the race track on more firm financial footing will allow us to perhaps do things that before we may have not been able to," Smith said.

"It will definitely improve the quality of racing we're able to provide at Hoosier Park, and that will increase its attractiveness to bettors at the OTBs," Smith said.

Indianapolis-based Centaur Inc. became official owner of the Hoosier Park race track and OTBs in March.

Churchill Downs Inc. had agreed to sell its 62 percent ownership to Centaur, which held 38 percent ownership.

Originally named Churchill Downs Sports Spectrum, the Merrillville off-track betting facility opened for business at 7610 Broadway in January 1995.

What had been the only game in town soon faced competition.

Whole-card simulcasting, the broadcasting of races from across the country, which had been a major draw at the Merrillville OTB, became available in Illinois by June 1995.

Within a year, casinos in Gary opened.

"With the introduction of the riverboats we saw a decrease in the amount of money wagered at the track," Moore said.

The 2001 opening of Indiana Downs, the state's only other horse race track, forced Hoosier Park to split the share of riverboat gambling revenue earmarked for the horse racing industry.

Still, gambling revenue generated by the race tracks climbed steadily, reaching $190 million in 2005, before falling to $182 million last year.

Joe Gorajec, executive director of the Indiana Horse Racing Commission, is optimistic the outlook will improve.

"I wouldn't read too much into a 4 percent decline," Gorajec said.

"I think it's a very positive addition, the slot machines at the two tracks and the additional revenue it will bring.

"The horsemanship and the quality of racing are going to generate additional fan interest," he said. "I would be disappointed if it didn't."