Are We Rewarding a Failing Industry?

Activists say that horse and dog racing are some of the true ills of society and that they should be eliminated from the earth. They say that people don’t even go anymore, and that alone is a sign that the tracks should be shut down. However, the racing industry says that by closing down the tracks you would be looking at tons of jobs lost, as well as an entire industry now unable to ever find work in their field again.

They say that by adding slot machines to the tracks they are able to provide for their employees and for the industry, while assisting the state at the same time. Activists say that by adding the slot machines the state is rewarding a dying industry and they can get their money elsewhere. They don’t even have a problem with the slot machines, just as long as they aren’t used to prop up failing tracks.

Many say that the reality of the situation falls somewhere in between. True, the industry is dying off as the grandstands that used to be filled with race fans in the 20th century have barely anyone there anymore. They say that slot machine casinos could easily be opened in their places, which would offer opportunities for employment for thousands of people. But the problem still lies in the fact that many of those employees that would be displaced would have to learn a whole new industry in order to survive.

Horse breeders, dog breeders, the entire industry would then flood other markets where it is already tough to get a job – if they were even able to. Some of these people this is the only job they have ever known, and they would lose their livelihood. The ranches where the horses are trained would go out of business, and all the way down the line. They say that adding slot machines to help out an entire industry is truly a small price to pay for the economic destruction that could face parts of our country if the industry were eliminated.

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