Posted November 6th, 2009 6:05 am

The Paulick Report has the latest attack against the horse industry orchestrated by former Breeders’ Cup official and current Republican State Senator Damien Thayer. The following is Thayer’s attack, with responsive points in bold after each paragraph.

For too long, casino gambling has dominated the debate in Frankfort to the detriment of all other issues. Governor Steve Beshear has advocated very little, if anything, beyond the expansion of gambling. Attorney General opinions throughout the years are divided. The Governor campaigned on “letting the people decide.” As recently as last year, members of House Democratic Leadership promoted a constitutional amendment to expand gambling.

If opinions are so divided, was David Williams mistaken when he said he thought that a constitutional amendment was unnecessary? Neither Thayer nor Williams have ruled out strong opposition to any amendment that does make the ballot to help the horse industry. Is there any reason the 100,000 Kentuckians whose jobs are being eliminated by this action should agree with the statement that they should just “let the people decide”?

The constitutional amendment that I have proposed will take the issue off the table so the Governor can focus on working with the General Assembly in a bipartisan manner to address the serious public policy issues facing Kentucky. If passed, it would allow video-lottery terminals in counties that have horse racing, with a local referendum vote. The proceeds would go to purses, breeders incentives and marketing for horse racing, and the facility operators, with the remainder sent to the state for capital projects and debt service reduction.

There are Kentuckians for whom the continued existence of the horse industry is extremely important. The so-called proposal is a storybook that give operators less than half the percentage of profits of any other state with gaming. It also provides the assured destruction of racetracks by imposing direct gaming competition for the very thoroughbred racetracks whose existence is currently threatened. How does that provide for anything other than additional firepower to shoot down the industry?

Members of the horse industry say that it is too late for a constitutional amendment; that it would take too long for relief to arrive. I say that time-consuming litigation is assured with “slots by statute.” A constitutional amendment is the only way that the horse industry will be able to “lock-in” the percentage of slots revenue that goes to purses. There are examples of state after state with slot-subsidized purses whose legislatures have gone back and shifted funds away from the horsemen. My proposal combined with the legislation similar to what the Senate passed during the special session in a bipartisan manner would give the horse industry not only purse protection but also immediate relief.

It is understood that opponents of the horse industry want to stall the constitutional amendments and local referendums, even though one-quarter of Kentucky’s racing dates have evaporated in a single year, and even though 45 % of the revenue disappeared in one year from the Keeneland September Sales. The threat here is to file lawsuits or be sure that others file lawsuits if there are any proposals filed in time to provide relief to the thoroughbred industry. That’s always a choice. If lawsuits are filed, Kentuckians in the horse business will ask the courts to consider accelerated proceedings.

No constitutional amendment has ever reached the House floor, much less the Senate’s. After considerable Democratic Party infighting, the amendment that finally passed a House committee in 2008 never got a floor vote. Did the Governor never really care about letting the people decide? We shall never know because he declared the bill “dead” for the session and declined to push for a vote.

Senate leader and Indiana casino frequenter, David Williams has stalled the legislation to provide relief to the thoroughbred industry for two years now. There was not a vote in the House the first time, because there was no belief it had a chance in the Senate. And in 2009, even though it was obvious the Senate attacks on the throughbred industry would continue, the House stood up, and challenged that position. They stood up, and presented a bill to the Senate that would have saved the horse industry. The Republican controlled State Senate killed it in June, 2009.

Finally, the question that needs to be answered is: do you believe that increased purses and improved wagering products and marketing can save tracks, or will it be necessary to permanently subsidize tracks? Track officials reveal themselves when my friend, Turfway’s CEO Bob Elliston, said that my proposal would “help make Kentucky racing more competitive by increasing purses but it doesn’t help reinvigorate racetracks.”

The answer is, everyone except less than 20 Republican state senators believes it is worth trying to see if increased purses and improved wagering products will save our 100,000 Kentucky jobs. It is easy to see why David Williams is against the horse industry and for other interests. Why Thayer is opposing the the very industry that first helped elect him is very unclear.

It seems that it’s not about the horse-racing, the “show,” it’s about the companies that own the tracks. They don’t want just a minimal approach to beef up purses – which they had argued previously would bring more fans and help everyone – they want rampant slots to create gambling empires. It will not be long before the horses are marginalized. My amendment would prevent this.

The amendment is intentionally designed to be nothing more than a stalling tactic and a “wedge issue” to rally religious conservatives to beat back the horse industry. The Kentucky State Senate is singlehandedly marginalizing the horse industry in Kentucky, while promoting it in states who do care enough to give their horses a level playing field. The horsemen of Indiana and Pennsylvania are grateful.

Some may say, too little, too late. I say that it is never too late to let the people decide.

The people ARE deciding. They have decided twice already this year to vote for candidates who will protect Kentucky jobs and the Kentucky horse industry: they chose change through Mike Reynolds and Robin Webb. They will continue to send that message of change until it is either understood by the senate or until the Senate is completely changed. It is of course up to the individual political leader to decide whether they want to listen to and respect what the people have decided, or whether they want to oppose the people’s decision until that change reaches its inevitable conclusion.

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