New-York tribune., 1922-03-11

Il ~ this bill IS passed, SAID WN.
! ,-ont racing cannot survive in this
=, We are already carrying our
-. Of the tax burdens and there is
reason Why racing associations
..la he tire targets fer special tax
- v-;s.;nn. Peop'e are prone to look
-stinc merely as form Of enter
~" .nsnf il is more than that; ii is
''.~,t lrs;ness. al Industry
W. w Rsluort brought up thc subject
s.,tirg and said that if there is
.~r impression that racing associations
LIT financially from betting it
..osld be corrected
''STig This majority Of the people who at
,,r5 rscts,n he continued, 90 SO foy
- .t' 1--we Of the sport, not because they
..s ~ there 10 sec certain horses. Let
~ .,-' remind you how two years ago
.s.nssnds OF people made long Jour
~ 10 see Nan O. War and Sil Barton
.',.ohsd against each other. There
Vas 70 betting to speak of.
More BETTING on Bridge
NJ Wilson told the committee that
q an additional tax is imposed upon
.,einc merely because of the betting
.,cidental to these events and because
I. is form OF amusement, that it
gsujd be well if a tax was imposed
ron bridge and whist games.
aSiore money is being bet on these
s,mes everv day in the state than on
n racetrscks in the course of the
s.ing ses'ca.
h was Brought to the attention of the
,,nmittee jnat horsezsoing has only
,sentlv recovered froVa the blow it re
.;ved when the anti-racetrack betting
,r was raised. Mr.. Belmont said it
nd been an uphill fight, and that it
zss necessary to finance it out of the
sockets Of stable owners who were in
crested in the breeding Of horses. He
siute6 the statement Of Assem- blyman
aarles H. Belts, one OF the intro
icsrs Of the bin, who said that racing
&sciations last year were reconciled
3 The tax and that they raised their
ae receipts in anticipation ii would
smposed. Mr. Belmont submitted
sIes showing the receipts and profits
the five racing associations in the
a;e durng 1920, which, he said, was
aslT banner year.
The gross receipts were s3.045.S52.
Tie net income, deducting all taxes
sa4 expenses, was $SS7. 7.002. The tax
total Ter the year was S321 600. Of
which approximately S25O.000 went to
jis state. The enactment Of the
PlieasT-Betts measure, using these fig
u.es as basis. would mean an add
tIoHal tax OF $2I1 .293, making the total
lax 5urden Of the five associations
3593O9l A chart showing the various
percentages Of taxes under the present
md the proposed plan was submitted
i showed taat the taY apportioned to
invested capital would be increased
H0n9 to about 5 per cent and that on
ass Income from about 50 20 90 ppr
Would Have Lost Money
"let ne tell YOU said Mr. Wilson
. Senator Frederick NJ. Davenport,
aalrman Of the Tan Committee, that
this new tax had been imposed in
92O, which we say was our banner
Z my track had been 10 Fer cent less
tan the We're, we would have lost
aoney, and we do not expect to have
: season ike that Of 1920 for Il long
Inc TO come"
The question of admission prices was
discussed by Mr.. Belmont, VINO said
Aat present pricea had to be changed
u order that suitable purses might be
eSsred.
Back in 1912. when horse fancicrs
lgg into their pockets to the extent Of
S5000 to put racing on It's feet he
'aid, we started ont with purses rang
ag from Sl00 to 500. To-day there
ne purses as hish as $4,000 They in
ate and assure good races. Horse own
'rs are not racing their horses for bets,
'ut for purses. They arc counting on
nc earning capacity of their horses
o win Inc stakes Some horses have
brought their owners fortunes. One
has won stakes totaling more than
100000. We would not be able to keep
Up our present stakes and purses if
ms tax Is imposed, as VIC would have
% retrench somewhere, owing to the
lsc' that we would not be able to pass
.s .as buck to the public by increasing