Kentucky Senate Committee Rejects Video-Lottery Terminal Bill
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Churchill Downs Exec Says Vote Hurts
Kentucky's Already Struggling Horse Industry |
The Kentucky Senate budget committee "rejected a controversial bill" yesterday that "would have allowed slot machines at racetracks as a way to shore up Kentucky's beleaguered racing industry," according to Gregory Hall of the Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL. The 10-5 vote against "sending the bill to the full Senate appears to kill the bill" for the state's special session. The bill would have allowed "slot-like video terminals at seven of eight Kentucky tracks" and would have used proceeds to "boost purses, fund breeding incentives and pay for school construction projects and equipment totaling more than" $1B. Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear, who "put the slots issue on the agenda of the special session," said, "It is too early to determine what steps we will take in the future to try to protect our signature business, but I will continue to work on ideas and proposals that will ensure this vital industry's continued health." Hall notes Beshear and the state's tracks have "argued that Kentucky needs expanded gambling so its horse industry can compete with those in other states." Churchill Downs Inc. (CDI) Senior VP/Communications & National Public Affairs Kevin Flanery: "The industry is in crisis right now. ... This is not a good vote for the racing and breeding industry of Kentucky." The vote "came amid indications that Kentucky's racing could face even more competition," as Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland Friday "reversed his long-held opposition and announced a plan for slot machines at tracks to help the state's budget" (Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL, 6/23).
NOT THE FINISH LINE: In Lexington, John Cheves notes regardless of the vote, "few in the Capitol think the debate is over for good," as slots supporters "cited the progress they made this session and predicted an ultimate victory, if not this year then some year soon." Kentucky state Sen. Tim Shaughnessy: "This is eventually going to happen, whether it's done by an act of the legislature or put before the voters of Kentucky for a formal vote. It may be stopped today, but the issue isn't if this happens, it's when this happens" (LEXINGTON HERALD-LEADER, 6/23). In a front-page piece for the KENTUCKY ENQUIRER, Patrick Crowley notes the vote will have "deep ramifications across Northern Kentucky," as the region will "lose out on ... more than $100[M] in spending on public school construction and higher education projects while Turfway Park in Florence could be forced to close by 2011." However, opponents of the bill said that video gambling "could not provide a sustainable stream of revenue to allocate millions of dollars [a] year to the horse industry while paying for $1.3[B] of new school spending statewide" (KENTUCKY ENQUIRER, 6/23).
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