Thoroughbred Owners of California Endorses Historic New Indian Gaming Agreements

SACRAMENTO – The Coalition to Protect California's Budget & Economy today announced that the Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC) has formally endorsed the four historic state-tribal Indian gaming agreements negotiated by the Governor and ratified by the Legislature with the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians; the Morongo Band of Mission Indians; the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians; and the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation. TOC, the official organization representing Thoroughbred horse owners in California, opposes referendum efforts to cancel the agreements.

While the owner of two California racetracks is primarily funding the opposition campaign, the Thoroughbred owners have come out in strong support of the compacts and in opposition to the actions of the one rogue race track owner who wants to hold down competition.

"The TOC Board of Directors has unanimously voted to support the tribes in opposing the referendum. We believe the recently approved compacts should stand as is," said TOC Chair Marsha Naify and President Drew J. Couto in a letter to CPCBE. "In fact, we are vehemently opposed to the notion that the referenda is in some obscure way of paramount importance to the future of the racing industry. It simply is not."

Under the agreements, the Agua Caliente, Morongo, Pechanga and Sycuan tribes will pay much higher percentages of their gaming revenues to the state. Those payments will give California hundreds of millions of dollars each year - totaling billions over the next two decades. That will help balance the state budget and provide vitally needed new funding for schools, public safety, roads and bridges, health care, and other programs and services throughout California.

Predictably, certain special interests don't like the new gaming agreements negotiated by Governor Schwarzenegger. The new agreements are opposed by a land speculator who owns racetracks in the Bay Area and Los Angeles and by two wealthy gaming tribes that are allowed to have unlimited slot machines and don't want competition. These special interests are spending millions on a referendum effort to place the four new agreements on the February 2008 ballot and try to convince voters to repeal them. If they get their way, the agreements will be canceled - and our state will lose billions of dollars in new revenues and thousands of jobs.

TOC joins a broad coalition of public safety, taxpayer, education, labor, local government, business, Indian Tribes and community groups in supporting the four agreements and opposing the referendum efforts.

For more information or to see a list of coalition members, please visit our website at www.YESforCalifornia.com.

Media with additional inquiries about the Coalition to Protect California’s Budget & Economy can contact Roger Salazar at (916) 444-8897.