Kentucky Supreme Court Deals Blow To Horse Racing Industry

The Kentucky Supreme Court Thursday in a unanimous vote ruled that a "significant source of horse racing’s revenues is unconstitutional," dealing the state’s "signature thoroughbred industry a resounding blow," according to Tim Sullivan of the Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL. The state’s highest court ruled that "many, if not all," of the state’s Historical Horse Racing machines "do not meet Kentucky’s constitutional requirement of being 'pari-mutuel' and that the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission exceeded its authority in allowing them." HHR terminals, "outwardly indistinguishable from slot machines," have been a "windfall for Kentucky tracks, responsible for the nation’s highest average purse" in '19. But the court's decision "could imperil" both a Keeneland and Kentucky Downs joint venture expanding HHRs and existing facilities such as Churchill Downs’ Derby City Gaming. Shares of Churchill Downs Inc. "dropped nearly 10% in Thursday’s stock market trading" (Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL, 9/25).