Election Results; The Day After

Yesterday's elections produced a few surprises and a couple of results with significant impact in the world of sports.  First, the upset victory of Chris Christie in New Jersey, where he knocked off incumbent governor Jon Corzine puts the renovation of the Izod Center, the current home of the New Jersey Nets in doubt as well as any funds needed to complete the nearby Xanadu project.  Christie will reach out to Newark Mayor Corey Booker to learn about his misgivings over the renovation and his concerns about competition between the Izod Center and the Prudential Center, the home of the New Jersey Devils, in downtown Newark.

In other election news, former NBA All Star Dave Bing won reelection as Mayor of Detroit, with 58% of the vote.  Bing was first elected about eight months ago in a special election following former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's resignation.

In Ohio, voters approved a constitutional amendment permitting the construction and operation of four casinos at designated sites in Cincinnati, Columbus, Cleveland and Toledo.  Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert is slated to own the casinos in Cleveland and Cincinnati,  while the rights to the Columbus and Toledo casinos are owned by Penn National, a casino and race track company  based in, where else, Pennsylvania.  The casinos will provide additional competition to an already ailing Kentucky thoroughbred industry with one of the state's three largest tracks, Turfway Park, located just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati. 

Turfway doesn't currently compete for horses with River Downs in Cincncinnati and the additional money that will flow to River Downs from the state's take of casino revenue will not add to the purse structure enough to create competition.  Nevertheless,  as seen by the drop in handle at Churchill Downs following the opening of the then Ceaser's Palace reiverboat casino, the lure of an alternative betting site will be strong and will cause a significant drop in Turfway's handle.