SAN DIEGO - On the surface, it doesn't seem to make sense, but the leaders at Del Mar race track say if you want to see the biggest names in horse racing like American Pharoah in San Diego, online poker will help.
According to Josh Rubinstein, chief operating officer of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, "If you're a horse racing fan and you love to see the top horses run, this is an important issue for you."
How is poker connected to horse racing?
Top horses go where their owners can win the most money. Unfortunately, that's usually not in California.
Rubinstein points out that most other states that have horse racing also let their tracks run casinos. That means more money for tracks like Saratoga in New York.
"Their purses are 30 percent higher than ours because they have this slot revenue," Rubinstein explained, "so American Pharoah ran in New York this year. He didn't run at Del Mar."
For race tracks, it's not just about adding another income source. It's also about protecting their home turf. Right now, the only gambling you can legally do online in California is bet on horse races. So from Del Mar's viewpoint, tribal casinos are asking permission to play in their playground.
"For those folks to come into a space which is exclusively ours right now," said Rubinstein, "with an expanded opportunity and say, 'You guys can't play in that arena and we'll throw you some scraps,' that, in our opinion, is not going to benefit our industry."
Many tribes are OK with letting the tracks launch their own poker websites. But several are not, and apparently there's a lot of bad blood between local tribes and the horse racing industry. It all goes back to when California first allowed tribal casinos. One of the biggest opponents was horse racing.
Now, in the same way that Del Mar questioned why others should be allowed to offer online gaming, some tribes wonder why horse tracks should be allowed to get a foot in the door on casino-style gaming, online or even in person.
10News asked Rubinstein: Would Del Mar like to open its own casino?
His answer: "Surely when you look at the margins of what casinos operate under -- slot machines and table games -- absolutely. But we're also realistic and the tribes have compacts with the state to operate those casinos, so we're not naive to think that that is something realistic for us."
Rubinstein said Del Mar would be willing to negotiate with the tribes to guarantee there would be no slippery slope, and that only online poker would be allowed. But not all tribes are convinced, and it's a big reason why the battle to legalize Internet poker has taken years.
