Posts Tagged ‘ernie fletcher’
Friday, December 4th, 2009
By Ray Paulick
It is no secret that the Democrat/Republican team here at the Paulick Report has been pushing for slots to be added at Kentucky’s racetracks since the legislative session earlier this year. It’s a reluctant position, wishing our sport could dig itself out of the hole on merit alone. But with all the other competing factors, it is obvious something must be added to the revenue stream to give racing a fighting chance to survive in this strange new world. Let’s face it, it ain’t 1973 anymore.
And so hopefully, this will be the last column I will have to write about David “Blackjack” Williams, the Republican president of the Kentucky state Senate who has steadfastly opposed legislation allowing Kentucky’s racing industry to compete on a level playing field with surrounding states. For those of you tired of this conversation, that possibility alone is enough for this to be labeled a Good News Friday piece.
On Tuesday, Kentucky will be holding yet another special election for a vacancy in the 14th Senate District after Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear appointed former Republican State Sen. Dan Kelly to a cushy judgeship. Covering much of Central Kentucky, this district certainly leans Democratic in registration numbers, but, like much of Kentucky, the voters are quite conservative. This is no slam-dunk for the pro-slots movement, but with a dominant lead for Democrats in fundraising, especially when combined with money brought in by the horse industry, there is a very good chance the Republicans will lose another seat in the Senate, and the balance of power will get ever closer to tilting to the Democratic side.
Both candidates have experience in Frankfort, with Republican Jimmy Higdon currently the state representative that encompasses a good portion of the 14th Senate District. From what I can tell, he is a hardworking and honest legislator. However, only three paragraphs into the ‘About Jimmy Higdon’ section of his website, Higdon draws a line in the sand on the slots issue. “On gambling, Jimmy Higdon voted against the governor’s slots-in-racetracks bill during the 2009 special session and he is committed to oppose the legislation as it is currently drafted.”
On the hand, former Democratic state representative and city councilman Jodie Haydon understands the issues our industry faces. Haydon rightly points out that “over 100,000 people have jobs in the Kentucky horse industry” and does an expert job of explaining the relevance of this number. “If you put Toyota, Ford, Delta and UPS all together, their employees would only amount to 1/3 the number of employees in the horse industry.” That’s a strong statement from a bold leader.
In reality, this race isn’t about Jimmy Higdon or Jodie Haydon. Instead, this election needs to be a referendum on the bully politics that David Williams has displayed over the past decade. A win for the Democrats in this election will spell doom for Williams’ once-mighty majority. This final nail in the coffin would most likely awaken the sleeping giant, United States Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who will surely do everything in his power to keep the Republicans in the majority in Kentucky’s state Senate.
Why would the country’s most powerful Republican U.S. Senator care about this outcome? Whichever party holds the Kentucky Senate in 2010 also controls the redistricting of the U.S. Congressional seats based on the upcoming census. Currently, Republicans enjoy a 4-2 advantage but if the Democrats grab a majority after the mid-term elections that number could flip. Nothing would be more embarrassing for McConnell in a year that is certainly trending Republican.
With that in mind, David Williams is grasping at his last straw on Tuesday. A win and he probably holds on to his position. A loss and the McConnell machine will most likely push another candidate for Senate President during the run-up to this year’s general session. For those of you not familiar with Kentucky politics, McConnell has previously taken this type of matter into his own hands when dissatisfied with his party. He recruited former Louisville Congresswoman Anne Northup to run against sitting Republican Gov. Ernie Fletcher in the primary for the 2007 gubernatorial election. While she lost, the primary delivered a final blow to an already scandal-ridden Republican who then lost big in the general election to current Gov. Beshear.
More recently, McConnell used his power to cut off fundraising to Hall of Fame pitcher and Sen. Jim Bunning, deeming him unelectable in the 2010 Senate elections, opting instead to support Secretary of State Trey Grayson. Bunning decided not to seek reelection.
If the bell tolled for a Hall of Fame pitcher and veteran Senator and the first Kentucky Republican governor in 32 years, David Williams will be gone faster than you can say VLT. The clock is ticking on the heavy-handed reign of Kentucky’s current State Senate President, a man who for some reason has taken it upon himself to try and destroy Kentucky’s signature industry. Let’s hope after Tuesday’s results, Williams’ time is up.
Copyright © 2009, The Paulick Report
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Tags: Anne Northup, Census, congress, Dan Kelly, david blackjack williams, david williams, ernie fletcher, Good News Friday, Jimmy Higdon, Jodie Haydon, kentucky democratic party, kentucky republican party, liberation farm, mitch mcconnell, Paulick Report, Ray Paulick, Senate, Slot machines
Posted in Good News Friday, Kentucky, Slot machines | 20 Comments »
Tuesday, September 30th, 2008
By Ray Paulick
The horse business is Kentucky’s signature industry, employing tens of thousands of people, generating over a billion dollars of revenue throughout the year, and putting the international spotlight on the Commonwealth each spring at the Kentucky Derby. Yet, in many ways, legislators and other government officials have been dealing with the industry almost as an afterthought.
Tax breaks given to lesser industries have not been granted to farmers whose agricultural product happens to be a horse instead of a cow. Kentucky’s legislature was late to the party to create an incentive fund to reward breeders for doing business in the Bluegrass State rather than shipping their breeding stock (and jobs) out of state where more lucrative incentives have been created. And now, one of the most troublesome challenges the racing industry faces – questions about the integrity of the sport and its pari-mutuel wagering foundation – has been hampered by ongoing budgetary shortfalls at the state agency that regulates racing.
Simply put, the integrity of racing in Kentucky is being jeopardized by indifference by some at the legislative and executive level to properly fund the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission.
The problem goes back nearly eight years ago to the administration of Gov. Paul Patton, who cut $1 million dollars – nearly one-third – out of what was then known as the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority. Frank Shoop, then the chairman of the regulatory body, told the Paulick Report he thought the cuts were temporary and would be restored; they weren’t. Instead, the Racing Authority began assessing racetracks as much as $3,500 a day to pay for many of the functions that would previously have been funded by the state. “It’s so important to the signature industry of the state,” Shoop said. “They should have proper money to regulate the industry: transportation, insurance and other departments have proper regulatory budgets. This department has been short of money and short of money for years.
“I don’t know what the proper funding action should be,” Shoop added, “but something needs to be done that the legislature and governor can agree on.”
If something isn’t done, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission will run out of money by Jan. 1, according to Tracy Farmer, a Thoroughbred owner and breeder and high-level operative in the Democratic Party that helped elect Gov. Steve Beshear last November. Farmer was named by Beshear to the current horse racing commission, where he serves as vice chairman, and is heading up a special Task Force on the Future of Horse Racing examining numerous issues related to racing and breeding.
Farmer told the Paulick Report that Kentucky’s General Assembly had $2 million set aside for the racing commission for the current fiscal year but they subsequently “raided our accounts to balance the (state) budget.” Farmer said he and others are looking at ways to fund the commission through such revenue items as the tax on claiming horses, which he estimated generates $2 million per year. “Money is being generated that’s not being put back into the industry,” Farmer said. “We’re looking at several different methodologies and will recommend one of them. This is the largest industry in the state. We have to fund the people who oversee it.”
State Sen. Damon Thayer, a Republican from Georgetown and a consultant in the racing industry who helped create the breeders’ incentive fund through existing revenue drawn from the tax on stallion seasons, pushed for legislation that would have Kentucky’s General Fund provide for the commission’s budget. That legislation failed, Thayer said, despite bi-partisan efforts to get it passed.
“The racetracks are struggling, the commission is without money, and the state is in a budget crisis,” Thayer said. “We need more money for the commission to have boots on the ground to do their job. And we were saying this before Eight Belles and Big Brown.”
The death of Eight Belles in this year’s Kentucky Derby and the admission by trainer Rick Dutrow that Derby winner Big Brown raced on anabolic steroids (then legal) has prompted an outcry for tighter regulations, stricter medication rules, and more comprehensive drug testing. Anabolic steroids have recently been banned in Kentucky and several other states, and that ban requires additional testing be added to the existing drug testing program.
Thayer plans to introduce new legislation during the next session of the General Assembly.
“What needs to happen is Gov. Beshear needs to get behind legislation drafted by Sen. Ed Worley (D-Richmond) and me that would set up a reliable, recurring source of revenue for the racing commission so the tracks do not pay for drug testing and their own regulation. The racing commission needs to be funded by the pari-mutuel excise tax so we can expand drug testing to a respectable level.”
According to Thayer, the pari-mutuel tax currently helps fund the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund, equine drug research and the University of Louisville’s equine business program.
The lack of funding came to a head at a recent meeting of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission when it was disclosed testing was not conducted for performance-enhancing milkshakes (TCO2 levels or bicarbonate loading) at Ellis Park this summer because of a personnel shortage. Since that disclosure, the commission’s chief veterinarian resigned his position.
“We were shocked to learn that no testing was conducted,” said Farmer.
It may have taken weeks for commission members to learn that there was no testing for milkshakes, but trainers probably knew instantly, permitting cheaters to prosper. The absence of testing shook the confidence of many horseplayers about whether the state is doing enough to stop performance-enhancing drugs from giving an edge to some trainers.
The racing commission’s executive director, Lisa Underwood, who was hired during the previous administration of Republican Gov. Ernie Fletcher, has plans to expand the size of the staff if funding is provided. She has submitted a plan to add investigators, state veterinarians and other full and part-time staff to better regulate racing and ensure its integrity.
Ed Martin, president of the Association of Racing Commissioners International, told the Task Force on the Future of Horse Racing when he became aware of how little was committed to Kentucky’s commission that he was “shocked at how low a priority the integrity of racing apparently was, especially considering how important the racing industry is to the state’s economy and identity.”
Martin compiled a study of how much is committed to integrity issues in other major racing states and found that Kentucky, “instead of being first, is last.”
His study showed Kentucky commits $7,692 per race day, less than half of the $17,948 committed by Florida for integrity enforcement. Martin said the Kentucky commission is sorely lacking investigators to monitor backstretch activities. Kentucky has two investigators, he said, compared with 14 in New York, 15 in Pennsylvania, 17 in Florida, and 18 in California.
“ Perhaps the most glaring weakness in the funding can be seen in the fact that no resources have been dedicated to policing the pari-mutuel system,” Martin said.“Kentucky in the past has dedicated nothing in this area while other major racing states have made a considerable commitment in this area, not only in terms of staff, but to ensure that an independent computerized monitoring system is deployed to protect against past posting, odds manipulations, cyber crime, and larceny. In public forum after public forum, large bettors have expressed a growing concern about the lack of commitment to wagering security.
“ While some states have committed as many as six people to wagering security and made arrangements for independent monitoring, Kentucky has yet to commit one.”
Many bettors are convinced the technology used in today’s pari-mutuel wagering system is archaic and able to be exploited by techno-savvy players who are making bets after the gates to a race have been opened. One member of the Kentucky Racing Commission who asked not to be named agreed: “There is no question people are betting after the horses are out of the gate,” he said. “They are somehow getting into the pool. It’s frightening.”
Copyright © 2008, The Paulick Report
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Tags: association of racing commissioners international, bicarbonate loading, Big Brown, bluegrass state, churchill downs, damon thayer, drug testing, ed martin, ed worley, eight belles, ellis park, ernie fletcher, frank shoop, Horse Racing, Keeneland, kentucky horse racing, kentucky horse racing authority, kentucky horse racing commission, kentucky thoroughbred development fund, lisa underwood, pari-mutuel wagering, paul patton, Paulick Report, Ray Paulick, RCI, steve beshear, task force on the future of horse racing, tco2, thoroughbred racing, tracy farmer, turfway park, university of louisville equiine business program, wagering integrity
Posted in Horse Racing, Industry Organizations, Kentucky, Medication, Regulatory Issues, Tote System, Wagering | 2 Comments »
Thursday, July 10th, 2008
It’s become something of a tradition in Kentucky politics for newly elected governors to dissolve the regulatory body for horse racing and create their own racing board. It’s something Brereton Jones, Ernie Fletcher and now Steve Beshear have done.
Governors in most other states are content to merely fill racing commissions with their hand-picked appointees as terms expire. In Kentucky, where horse racing is the number one industry and racing commissioners can wield considerable clout, there is more of a sense of urgency by governors and their allies.
The downside to this maneuvering is continuity in the regulation of the sport, and this latest iteration by Gov. Beshear to dissolve the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority and create the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission left no indication as to whether people like John Veitch, the chief steward for racing, and executive director Lisa Underwood have job security in the new regime.
There was good work being done by some members of the KHRA, and we can only hope that it will not go by the wayside. For example, one of the Authority members who was not retained on the new board, Franklin Kling, put considerable time and effort into issues related to wagering security, particularly past-post betting, or perceptions of past-post betting. It is common now, because of delays in communications from wagering hubs to the host track, for odds to change midway through a horse race. Clearly, the tote systems are not on par with the technologies in place for online banking and securities transactions, and there remains the potential for fraud and pool manipulation.
Many horseplayers are concerned that bets are being made after the start of a race, and some racetrack executives privately fear the same thing. There have been instances in Kentucky where that’s happened on simulcast races, and professional horseplayer Mike Maloney was brought in by the Authority to advise them on the issue. The latest example appears to have occurred at Philadelphia Park recently, when the Scientific Games totalizator system malfunctioned, allowing simulcast bettors at Tampa Bay Downs and possibly other locations to place wagers during and after the running of the fourth race June 28.
Kling provided at no cost to the commission information technology personnel from his company to examine the issue of tote communications and past posting, and according to sources there was progress in that area. This is a serious issue that needs attention, and there is no reason to discard the work that Kling and other members of a wagering security committee have done.
Fortunately, the man who advised Gov. Beshear on the appointments to the new commission, Thoroughbred owner-breeder Tracy Farmer, is a sharp and highly ethical individual, knowledgeable about the industry, and perceptive about what the public expects from a regulatory body. Farmer and his wife Carol have been strong supporters of horse rescue and retraining operations, something that many people in the industry have ignored for too long.
The commission includes some members whose background does not appear to have any connection to racing and is probably nothing more than political patronage. However, the retention of attorney Robert Beck as chairman was a wise move, as was the appointment of several people with both knowledge and experience in racing matters.
One example is attorney Ned Bonnie of Louisville, who is an expert in the medication field, having helped develop regulations for the sport horse world. Bonnie has been involved in numerous industry committees and has strong opinions about cleaning up the game. His involvement in the Thoroughbred industry goes back many year and includes a close friendship and association with the late Kent Hollingsworth, the esteemed, longtime editor of Bloodhorse magazine whose "hat, oats and water" mantra Bonnie had emblazoned on a sweatshirt that he frequently wore while jogging.
Farmer appears to have advised Beshear to balance the board with diverse views. Trainer John Ward has fought for tighter restrictions on medications while heading the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association and Frank Jones has been a voice for the Kentucky Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, which tried to keep Kentucky’s permissive medication rules intact. The inclusion of a veterinarian, Foster Northrup, is another move that will diversify the board’s makeup.
The best news came on Wednesday, when the new commissioners were sworn in, and Beck and Farmer indicated that they intend to pursue regulations for anabolic steroids.Steroids have been one of the sport’s dirty little secrets. There will be efforts to keep their use legal in Kentucky, and some veterinarians may say that their use benefits the health and welfare of the horse. But public perception is very important, and right now horse racing is losing that battle in a very big way. It’s time for steroids to be banned: period.
The political tradition by newly elected Kentucky governors to dissolve racing commissions and create new spots for political supporters can lead to problems. Fortunately, the people involved in the process in 2008 have the best interests of racing at heart.
Let’s hope there is a seamless transition. People who regulate Kentucky racing should be looked upon as national leaders. That hasn’t always been the case.
By Ray Paulick
Copyright ©2008, The Paulick Report
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Tags: brereton jones, ernie fletcher, foster northrup, frank jones, franklin kling, john veitch, john ward, kent hollingsworth, kentucky horse racing authority, kentucky horse racing commission, lisa underwood, mike maloney, ned bonnie, past-posting, Paulick Report, ray paulick horse racing, robert beck, steve beshear, tracy farmer
Posted in Industry Organizations, Kentucky, Regulatory Issues | Comments Off
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