It’s Kentucky Derby time and all that ‘run for the roses’ b.s. can’t hide the stench of decomposition that comes from the Sport of Kings. It’s also a reminder that tracks in many states are hanging in there by the grace of 
slot machine winnings. Racing barons can sniff down their noses at casino gambling but it’s what keeps their anachronistic tourneys in business. You can argue about the “cerebral input that serious handicappers use to select winners” but the bottom line is that, without the dumb-luck slots, many a track will be put out to pasture. Case in point, Delaware: The state Senate has approved a bailout for the state’s racinos that will reduce their tax rate from 29% to 15.5%. It would also allow VLT play on Christmas and Easter. (Nothing is sacred when money is involved.) What more proof do you need that Delaware’s racino industry is a truss holding the horseracing sport in place?
In defense of the racinos, state Sen. Brian Bushweller (D) said the state has “treated the industry like a cash cow for decades, and that cow has been milked nearly dry.” Despite the Legislature’s generosity some grabby racino bosses wanted even more: “Although we had requested greater relief, we appreciate the spirit of everyone working together to reach this compromise,” grudgingly allowed Dover Downs CEO Denis McGlynn. Opponent state Sen, Robert Marshall (D) protested, “I hear nothing about the smaller business and any support, any programs, we can provide that company in order to survive the downturns.”
* “Executive compensation at Caesars [Entertainment] is out of control,” a Unite-Here representative said and we couldn’t agree more. 
The union wants private-equity funds off the compensation committee, on the grounds that representatives of Texas Pacific Group and Apollo Management and shoveling out money indiscriminately to CEO Mark Frissora — who makes 601X as much as the average employee — and others. Only seven other companies had such a disproportionate ratio. Frissora’s doing a fairly good job — but not that good.
* The chances for casino expansion into Georgia are looking rather dim as the May 22 primary draws near. Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle (R) is going heavy with ads that describe him as a “conservative Christian,” emphasis on the latter, so we can count him out. Challengers Hunter Hill and Brian Kemp are out to lunch on economic issues, being more concerned with putting more guns onto the streets and — in Hill’s case — into the hands of minors. The 58 victims of the Mandalay Bay Massacre died in vain.
