Since 1948, Jackson Harness Raceway has been available for gambling enthusiasts to place a bet on a winning horse. In the past couple years, the track has tried to add video lottery games to stay competitive with Michigan's major casinos.
But Proposal 1, a proposed amendment to the Michigan Constitution, would require all gambling operations - except American Indian tribal casinos and Detroit casinos - to get voter approval before they expand.
"Basically what it does, it gives the three Detroit casinos and the Indian casinos a monopoly," said Daniel Rakieten, president and general manager of the track. "Most casinos make 90 cents on the dollar. My race track makes three cents, so why are they so afraid of me?"
There are seven major horse racing tracks in Michigan, three Detroit casinos, 17 American Indian casinos and the Michigan Lottery.
But the group that gathered the signatures for the Nov. 2 ballot initiative, Let Voters Decide - YES!, said the proposal allows Michigan voters to make the final decision if more commercial gambling is allowed in the state.
"All we are doing is putting back into the constitution an amendment which regulates gambling by requiring a vote of approval," spokesman Tom Shields said. "It's so the legislature can not go out and put a casino in my backyard, your backyard."
Shields said the horse racing industries have been failing for years and should not put in commercial gambling machines to survive.
"People don't want a major expansion of gambling in the state," he said.
A poll released this week by the Lansing-based survey company EPIC/MRA shows that most Michigan voters are in favor of the amendment. In a survey of 610 people, 62 percent favored Proposal 1, 26 percent opposed it and 12 percent were undecided.
"They don't know what it is yet," Rakieten said. "We don't have the funds that Let Voters Decide has."
The racetrack owner said the amendment would have adverse effects on agriculture by hurting the horse industry, and adverse effects on the Michigan lottery by limiting its ability to create new games.
By law, the lottery gave $586 million to Michigan's School Aid Fund last year and expects to contribute more than $600 million this year, said spokeswoman Andrea Brancato.
Michigan Agri-Business Association president Jim Byrum said he is worried about the effect of the proposal on the lottery.
"The reason lotteries are successful are because of innovative new games," he said. "I would suggest (the proposal) creates insurmountable hurtles to creating new games."
His organization is combined with several other organizations, including the Michigan Education Association, in a coalition opposing the proposal called "No Casino Monopolies."
"We just don't believe it's fair to create monopolies," Byrum said. "It eliminates the possibilities for new gaming opportunities at race tracks."
