Whether or not Kentucky should obtain casino gaming has been a hot topic across the Bluegrass state over the last few years, and the debates between supporters and detractors have continued to heat up since Gov. Steve Beshear, a proponent of the idea, was elected in November.
Beshear, who made expanded gambling part of his campaign to win election, has said limited casino gambling around Kentucky - if approved via constitutional amendment - could raise about $500 million a year for the state. It could also keep the horse industry competitive with surrounding regions that have already obtained slots at their racetracks.
Even if the measure were to become law this year, however, revenue wouldn't be realized until sometime in 2009. Beshear and the General Assembly during the current session will work on a budget for 2008-10.
In early January, Kentucky racetrack representatives told a task force set up by Speaker of the House Jody Richards they're not certain where the casinos would be located if voters approve a constitutional amendment. They said they could propose to have some free-standing gaming facilities.
The task force was formed to help evaluate a variety of gaming-related issues. Beshear has said he intends to fashion the gaming legislation himself.
Among the racetrack representatives at the task force meeting were Robert Elliston, president and chief executive officer of Turfway Park and a board member of the Kentucky Equine Education Project (KEEP).
"We stand ready to respond to the members of the General Assembly as they seek questions," said Elliston, who noted the horse industry had also been actively involved with the gaming issue through KEEP. "We meet frequently to talk about what we hear, and what is happening in other states, and we gather that information and compare it to the existing policy."
John Sikura, owner of Hill 'n' Dale Farm near Lexington and also a KEEP board member, said, "We're sensitive to the fact that, if there's a casino bill, it has to represent and benefit the entire state, so it's not just us. We'll advocate our position, but if it has a chance to pass, it has to represent everybody. We've agreed to speak with unity."
Sikura said KEEP would continue to raise funds and offer various events to inform and educate Kentuckians on the issue. KEEP raised nearly $4 million at a stallion season auction in December, and chairman Brereton Jones said a portion of those funds would go toward articulating the organization's gaming position.
KEEP executive director Patrick Neely gave a presentation at a Jan. 15 special subcommittee meeting in Frankfort to further educate the general assembly on the gaming matter.
"My main point of discussion was the competitiveness issue," said Neely, who took the position that with casinos, Kentucky would be better able to compete with surrounding states that have enhanced their racing and breeding programs with expanded gaming.
"I encouraged the general assembly to put us on a level playing field with our competitors, and then I gave examples of what's been happening in our competitor states to increase field sizes, purses, handle, foal crops, etcetera, and compared that to Kentucky's trend lines, which are all relatively flat."
Neely started the presentation by sharing statistics of how the horse industry has financially affected the state, with an estimated economic impact of $4 billion.
To explain the importance of adding expanded gaming, Neely pointed out how gross purses in North America had reached record levels in 2006, which were largely attributable to the increased purses at racetracks that offer alternative gaming.
According to The Jockey Club, of the 12 states and provinces that offered at least $1 million more in purse money in 2006 than in 2005, eight permit alternative gaming at racetracks, Neely said. Gains in 2006 were paced by Oklahoma, where purses more than doubled to more than $18 million during the first full year of racino operations.
Another chart showed Turfway Park's minimum purse at $6,000 last year, compared to $14,000 at the newly opened Presque Isle Downs near Erie, Pa., which has a slot-machine casino connected to the racetrack.
Overall, the funds distributed to horsemen in states with casinos at their racetracks range from 7.5 percent to 30 percent.
"The fatter the purse, the better the quality and quantity of horses that run, making for more interesting races," Neely explained. "More interesting races attract more bettors and larger handles. If purses shrink, so does the quality and quantity of the field, further handicapping the ability to attract interested bettors."
Sikura reemphasized his point that while the horse industry would certainly be a beneficiary of the revenue from gaming if a bill should pass, the entire state would share the wealth.
"It's not just a bill for the horse industry, but we believe an industry intercedes with the competition of other states, and we want Kentucky to remain the number one state in the union to buy, sell, raise, and race horses," he said. "The purses that people run for, that's the lifeline of our economic engine. We feel that as a signature industry, a good horse economy is good for the entire state economy."