By Associated Press
Louisville, KY – A Kentucky judge ruled Wednesday that betting on re-shown horse races would be legal under state law.
The decision by Franklin County Circuit Judge Thomas Wingate could open the door to wagering on previously run races. But because an anti-gambling group is promising to appeal, Kentuckians need not rush out to place bets.
Governor Steve Beshear, who has pushed various gambling initiatives aimed at generating revenue for the horse racing industry, said Wednesday he is pleased with Wingate's ruling.
"We feel strongly that the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission has the statutory authority to regulate historical horse racing, and we expect revenue produced from these games will help support our trademark racing industry," Beshear said.
Kentuckians are allowed to bet on horse racing, bingo, pull-tabs and lotteries, but lawmakers have resisted opening the state to other forms of gambling.
The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission approved the regulations at issue in July in hopes of boosting revenue for struggling tracks in the self-proclaimed horse capital of the world.
The Beshear administration, along with horse track executives, sought the ruling on the legality of the regulations. The Kentucky Family Foundation, an antigambling group, intervened in the case, arguing that state law allows betting on live horse races, not recorded repeats.
"We obviously intend to appeal to a higher court, which we think will pay closer attention to the argument that this is not pari-mutuel wagering," said Martin Cothran, a policy analyst for the Family Foundation.
House Speaker Greg Stumbo said Wednesday he doesn't expect the legislature to take action on the regulations until the appeals process has finished. In Kentucky, the legislature is charged with approving or rejecting regulations.
"We don't think that elected lawmakers are going to be nearly as impressed with the argument that watching videos of old horse races is the same as watching a live horse race, which is the only thing that Kentucky law allows for," Cothran said.
The regulations would let tracks accept pari-mutuel bets on rebroadcasts of the old races, stripped of the names of the horses, jockeys and trainers.
The latest push to allow bets on re-shown races has been a strong revenue generator since it began a decade ago at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas, where it's known as Instant Racing. The track now has 400 Instant Racing terminals, which generate $3.5 million in purse money each year.