While searching through our files, we came across a couple of documents from 1996 that made us chuckle. The first is a letter from Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge to Matthew J. Ryan, Speaker of the House of Representatives, on Nov. 20, 1996. It expresses Ridge's views about expanded gaming (slots) in the Keystone State. Little did Ridge realize that just eight years later his successor, Ed Rendell, would successfully push through slots legislation, thus paving the way for Pennsylvania's racetracks to offer higher purses and making the state one of the most desirable places in which to breed thoroughbreds. Check it out (if you click on the image, you will then be able to enlarge it):
Next is a pull-quote from the Daily Racing Form dated October, 1996. The quote was uttered by F. Eugene Dixon, Jr., then-chairman of the Pennsylvania Racing Commission, after a Commission meeting at Philadelphia Park. Dixon, an esteemed and respected businessman and horseman, was not happy with the state of affairs at the Bensalem oval while under the ownership of Greenwood Racing, Inc. We wonder what Fitz would have thought about Greenwood and its fancy casino Parx if he saw it today.
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