A pair of added gaming bills floated by two Republican state senators on Tuesday failed to garner support of Kentucky horsemen.
Kentucky Senate President David Williams (D-Burkesville), who opposed a bill passed this year by the Kentucky House of Representatives that would have added video lottery terminals at state tracks, and Senator Damon Thayer (R-Georgetown), who has industry ties but received backlash because of his partys opposition to that bill, presented their new ideas during a two-hour meeting at the Kentucky Horse Park.
After the meeting, horsemen said the plans would take too long to put in place, took away focus from supporting the House Bill, and would divide horsemen and racetracks. About 40 horsemen attended the meeting they said was requested by Williams.
Thayer said he will introduce legislation that would put a proposal for video lottery terminals before state voters. The VLTs would be located in counties that currently have Thoroughbred or Standardbred tracks, although the locations would not necessarily be at racetracks. Fayette County, which has two tracks, would have a single casino.
Thayer said the plan would raise at least $100-million a year for equine purses and breeder funds. His plan would require two-thirds approval in the House and Senate and then a majority approval by Kentucky voters. Voters in each county also would then have to approve the plan.
Williams said he will propose legislation that would prohibit the expansion of gaming in the state without the approval of Kentucky voters.
Lanes End Farm General Manager Bill Farish suggested Thayer is proposing the legislation for political reasons, noting that even as a prominent Republican in the state, he is hoping for a shift in the Kentucky Senate to back the VLT bill that already has been passed by the House. A Republican-majority Senate committee failed to move the House bill, which has the backing of Governor Steve Beshear, to the Senate floor this year.
The horse industry, like any other important industry in the state, is going to work to elect people that protect its interests, Farish said. A Constitutional amendment, would be years in the making.
Thayer would hope to pass his proposed bill next year and put it before voters in the November 2010 election. He would then hope counties would act quickly to conduct local elections.
Currently the Kentucky Senate has 20 Republicans, 17 Democrats, and one independent. Ed Worley (D-Richmond) said he had not heard about the Republican proposals until he attended Tuesdays meeting. He does not anticipate Democrats stepping across the aisle to support either plan, noting the VLT bill passed by the House is still viable.
This is about politics, Worley said. Theyre trying to create another wedge on this issue that they can take to their constituents as they try to re-elect some of their members.
While Thayer said his plan would include tax breaks for racetracks and would help them increase purses, it would not necessarily provide the direct benefit enjoyed by racinos in other states. As he has done consistently, Williams said Tuesday that Churchill Downs and its stockholders would be the biggest beneficiary of the addition of VLTs proposed in the House bill.
Kentucky Thoroughbred Association/Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders President Don Robinson said Thayer is trying to pit horsemen against racetracks.
Thats what theyre trying to do, Robinson said, noting tracks and horsemen support the VLT bill approved by the House. We are together on this. Tracks and horsemen have spoken as one voice. Thats where were at and were going to stay there.
KTA/KTOB Executive Director David Switzer said Thayers plan would take years to put in place. He said the House Bill VLT plan would have a better chance to be approved sooner, although he noted it would require changes in the Senate.
Frank Angst is senior writer of Thoroughbred Times
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Senate President David Williams crushes Beshearby bluegrassblog1,080 views
Ban the expansion of gaming in Kentucky without a vote of The People, all the while you go to Indiana and spend plenty of time at their casinos. Is someone paying you to keep Kentucky from being competitive in gaming or getting a piece of the pie? And what about cutting out The People and their say in their State's financial future? Fascism fueled by religious hypocrisy. Williams is scum by definition.
jw870206 1 year ago
David Williams: a worthless waste of skin
bluecatky 1 year ago