Kentucky Horse Owners Campaign for Slot Gambling
In an all-out publicity blitz designed to gather popular support behind legislation to bring slots to Kentucky tracks, state horse owners are launching a media campaign aimed at state residents. Horse industry insiders say the tracks cannot survive without additional gambling, a message confusing many Kentuckians.
The Kentucky Equine Education Project has mailed out forms to over 250,000 residences telling recipients that the iconic industry is in desperate straits. The group has also taken out radio ads to educate the public on the potential legislation.
Track observers say Kentucky voters may be confused by the mixed messages coming from Lexington. Governor Steve Beshear has acted to force forfeiture of 141 online casino domain names, using the evils of gambling and the need to protect consumers as cause.
"Then he tells us gambling at state-taxed tracks and slots is ok, even though the payout percentage is totally worse with state games," says Brandi Huckaby, Kentucky gaming patron. "One minute it's 'shut down gambling, it's dangerous,' the next it's 'gamble here, where you lose faster but I make money.' "
Meanwhile, Churchill Downs has used Beshear's protectionism to cut back on live racing and Kentucky jobs so as to expand its exempted online gambling programs. The line is so blurred, Kentucky residents feel like their heads are spinning like Linda Blair in "The Exorcist."
"Why don't they just quit trying to make my decision for me, legalize all gambling, and let the free market figure out what Kentuckians want?" asks track regular Pete Roswell.
