Finish Line: The Rise and Demise of Off-Track Betting (2016)

• 81%
• 2016
• Joseph Fusco

"Finish Line: the Rise and Demise of Off-Track Betting" is the only documentary film to tell the story of the defunct OTB system in New York, which shows why it closed, who benefited politically, and how the taxpayer ultimately paid the price for its demise. Its closure cost thousands of civil-service workers their jobs, retirees their promised health care, and the horse-racing industry a billion dollars a year in lost revenue. It is an enduring document for a lost era of New York City street culture, a rallying cry for those workers who lost their benefits, and a reminiscence for those who love the horse-racing industry too much to let it crumble.