Governor Mitch Daniels had a strangely ordinary answer to concerns that Indiana’s horse tracks may go out of business: let ‘em.  After all, the governor said, someone else will buy the assets and make the tracks profitable.

The comments came in response to questions from a WISH-TV reporter following a ceremony where the governor awarded two heroes for saving the life of a trucker after a tank explosion in Indianapolis last month.

Daniels’ position is in stark contrast to the position of some legislators who favor a tax restructuring and other handouts for the horse tracks.  It was revealed this week that Hoosier Park’s parent company, Centaur, spent $534,000 to lobby the legislature for a gaming expansion and tax breaks.  Centaur missed an interest payment late last month and is now in default with lenders who ponied up the $250 million license fee that allowed Hoosier Park and Indiana Downs to expand and put thousands of slot machines at the tracks.

Times are tough for casinos in Lake County as well.  Majestic Star, which operates two casinos in Northwest Indiana, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this week.  Legislators in the region have sought a license transfer to a more lucrative land-based operation on the 80/94 expressway.

Gov. Daniels’ position should hardly come as a surprise to any lawmakers who had plans to bailout casinos this session.  During his media availability on November 6th the governor made it clear that if the state is going to start bailing out companies, they’re not going to start with profitable ones.  We understand that in Barack Obama’s America companies are not allowed to fail and are instead propped up indefinitely by the government.  Thankfully, we still live in Mitch Daniels’ Indiana where the interests of taxpayers come first.