Posts Tagged ‘kentucky slots’

The election is next Tuesday, Aug. 25. The district encompasses the northeastern Kentucky counties of Bracken, Carter, Greenup, Lewis, Mason and Robertson. Webb not only voted for House Bill 2, the VLT legislation that was designed to help the horse industry and the state’s educational system, but she is also a horsewoman with years of experience showing and judging Tennessee Walking Horses.

The election of Webb will help loosen the Republican Party’s majority rule in the Kentucky Senate. Led by David “Blackjack” Williams, the Senate president from Burkesville who enjoys gambling at casinos and riverboats in neighboring states but opposes a level playing field for Kentucky racetracks, Senate Republicans have created a roadblock to the VLT legislation.

Webb has raised more money in the campaign than her Republican opponent, thanks in part to the support of a number of individuals in the horse industry who held a fund-raiser for her in July, but she conceded in a July interview with the Paulick Report that the 18^th district is a conservative one and that she faces an uphill battle.

Ditty, a dermatologist with no political experience, has the support of Kentucky U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, the Senate’s minority leader who has made campaign appearances on his behalf.

Webb has the backing of all seven of Kentucky’s living Democratic governors (pictured, left), all of whom are scheduled to appear at a rally in Raceland in Greenup County on Saturday. Click here for details.

The election of Webb will do more than replace Borders with a pro-horse industry senator. It will send a message to Williams and other opponents of legislation designed to help the horse industry that they might want to reconsider their position or face strong, well-financed challengers when they run for re-election.

If you happen to live in that district and care about the horse industry, there is a clear-cut choice between the two candidates running for the seat vacated when Borders accepted a position on the Public Service Commission offered by Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear. The two candidates are Democrat Robin Webb (pictured, left) of Grayson, who has served in the House of Representatives on behalf of the 96^th District since 1999, and Republican Dr. Jack Ditty, a dermatologist from Greenup County. The 18^th district encompasses the northeastern Kentucky counties of Bracken, Carter, Greenup, Lewis, Mason and Robertson.

Webb voted for House Bill 2. She is an experienced horsewoman with years of involvement with Tennessee Walking Horses. Ditty said he wants to help the horse industry but opposes the expansion of gambling and would have voted against House Bill 2 if given the chance.

A fund-raiser is being held on Webb’s behalf from 5-6:30 p.m. tomorrow night (Tuesday, July 28) at Bruce Hundley’s Saxony Farm between Lexington and Versailles, Ky. It is being hosted by Mr. and Mrs. Craig Bandoroff, Bill Casner, Johnny T.L. Jones III, Mr. and Mrs. Mike McMahon, Jack Smith III, Robert Clay, Earl Rogers and Elisabeth Jensen. (Call 859 983-8703 for details.)

That same night, Don and Mira Ball are hosting a fund-raiser “honoring” and benefiting the Republican Caucus that killed House Bill 2 at their Donamire Farm. Don Ball is said to have great influence over Senate President David “Blackjack” Williams, the Republican from Burkesville who reportedly frequents Indiana and Mississippi casinos but is determined to keep Kentucky racetracks from getting VLTs that would level the economic playing field with states like Indiana, West Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Florida, Louisiana, New Mexico and soon Maryland and Ohio.

Could the choice between the candidates and the fund-raisers be any more distinct? Donamire Farm is a showplace farm owned by a family that has made a fortune building thousands of houses across central Kentucky with their Ball Homes. Saxony Farm is a working family farm, as seen here in this segment from a 1995 KET (public television) program.

Senate Republicans hold a 21-16 edge over Democrats, with one Independent. While it isn’t known how all of the Republicans in the Senate would have voted on House Bill 2 since the A&R Committee stopped it from getting to the Senate floor for a vote, only one of the Republican members of the committee, Tom Buford of Nicholasville, supported the bill.

The election of Webb would close the gap and send a message to Williams and the rest of the Republicans in the Senate that they might want to reconsider their position on House Bill 2 or future VLT legislation.

In an interview with the Paulick Report, Webb said she voted for House Bill 2 “because it was restricted to gaming venues that were already established. This industry needs to be competitive with other states. I appreciate it as one of our signature industries and a major economic driver. The bill was not only for racing breeds but for the equine industry over all–racing, non-racing, research and education. The issue is multi-faceted.”

Webb has a deep personal involvement with horses. “I showed pleasure horses most of my life,” she said. “I was a licensed walking horse judge at one time, I’ve been a horse show announcer, have taught 4H camps, was a 4H state champion and like to trail ride. I’ve always had an interest in horses. I’m a horsewoman and I appreciate the industry.”

She’s got plenty of experience in the political world as well, having learned bi-partisanship in her own home while growing up. Her deceased father was a Republican who was an alternate to that party’s 1968 presidential convention and her mother was a delegate at the 1972 Democratic convention.”

Webb, who is the second-ranking member of the House Budget Committee, said she can bring a great deal of budget experience to the Senate. She is also a tough and proud woman who has overcome personal difficulties, including an abusive spousal relationship and health problems (her own, and that of a prematurely born baby)  that have given her a very intimate knowledge of the challenges this country faces with its health-care crisis.

To learn more about Robin Webb, click here. For information on Tuesday’s Webb for Senate fund-raiser, call (859) 983-8703. If you are unable to attend and want to make a donation to Robin Webb’s Senate campaign, click here.

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Donamire Farm and its owners do not depend on a healthy Thoroughbred industry to survive; the farm was funded through the thousands of homes built by their Ball Homes LLC. In fact, some suggest Ball Homes will be even more profitable if the Thoroughbred industry fails and farm land is sold cheaply for residential development.

However, Jackson did say that if the daughter of Medaglia d’Oro remained healthy there was a very good chance she would remain in training in 2010 as a 4-year-old, with the Breeders’ Cup at Churchill Downs a year-end goal.

Jackson and Rachel Alexandra’s jockey, Calvin Borel, answered a wide range of questions from the media in advance of Saturday’s Mother Goose at Belmont Park, in which Rachel Alexandra will be heavily favored. NYRA is offering free admission for women and giving away 10,000 pink bracelets embossed with Rachel Alexandra’s name in conjunction with the announcement by Jackson and his wife, Barbara Banke, to give a portion of any prize money won by  the filly to the Susan B. Komen Race for the Cure for breast cancer.

While he gave no indication where Rachel Alexandra would surface following this weekend’s race against fellow 3-year-old fillies, Jackson said he wanted to run her against colts again, and included the nine-furlong Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park Aug. 2 and 10-furlong Travers at Saratoga Aug. 29 among the possibilities for her this summer. Each race for 3-year-olds carries a $1-million purse.  He also listed as possible starts the $300,000 Coaching Club American Oaks for 3-year-old fillies going 10 furlongs at Belmont Park July 25; the $1-million Delaware Handicap , a 10-furlong event for fillies and mares, 3 and up at Delaware Park July 19; and the $600,000 Alabama for 3-year-old fillies going 10 furlongs at Saratoga Aug. 22. The spacing of her races was important, Jackson said, along with her physical condition.

Jackson said he would love to meet reigning filly and mare champion Zenyatta, but that it would have to happen outside of California. “I would hope we’d meet, but if it’s not in the stars, it’s not going to happen,” he said. “They’re going to have to come east or to some neutral track,” he said. “I’m not going to run on plastic (all of California’s major tracks have a synthetic surface instead of dirt). We don’t need to risk her that way.” Jackson said synthetic tracks tend to favor turf horses and that Rachel Alexandra has proven herself on the dirt. “You can’t predict the outcome of a race on plastic,” he said. “You see horses all finishing in a bunch.” Also, Jackson said the various synthetic manufacturers (Pro Ride, Cushion Track, Polytrack, Tapeta) each produce varying surfaces. “Man is interfering with nature,” he added.

Borel said he is confident the drop back to a one-turn nine-furlong race for Rachel Alexandra will not be a problem after going around two turns in her recent races. “She’s very versatile,” he said. “I’m going to ride that filly with confidence. For me to go out there and not ride her with confidence would be stupid.”

In other news, Jackson, a Californian who is a major contributor to both the Democratic and Republican parties in Kentucky, said he supported recently defeated legislation in Kentucky to bring video lottery terminals or slot machines to the state’s racetracks, though he admitted he “didn’t work hard for the bill because I was back working in California on the wine business. When I support a party or candidate, I do it so they can vote their own conscience. I look at the slots and gambling as an interim or short-term solution. The long term is best served if we can get together and voluntarily form a major league office with a commissioner.”

Jackson also said he “has been approached and am involved in trying to save Santa Anita Park,” which is scheduled to be sold as part of the Magna Entertainment bankruptcy proceedings. The Thoroughbred Owners of California recently confirmed it is planning to bid on the track in a bankruptcy auction. Jackson added that he is considering sending both mares and stallions to his home state in order to improve California’s breeding industry.

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A Senate committee stacked with Republican followers of Senate President David “Blackjack” Williams voted 10-5  not to allow the full Senate to consider VLT legislation designed to close Kentucky’s budget deficit, improve education, and allow the horse industry to compete with other states in the region that have slot machines. The House passed the bill last week under the direction of Speaker Greg Stumbo, but the Senate committee vote went along party lines, with nine of 10 Republicans voting to kill the bill. Four of five Democrats supported it, with one abstaning. (Click here for a live blog including the votes by each Senator.)

Williams, who likes to play blackjack at Indiana and Mississippi riverboats but for some reason opposes Kentuckians gambling in their own state, brought a smokescreen strategy to the special session called by ineffectual Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear. That strategy included a tax-and-spend proposal passed by the Republican-controlled Senate but which never had a chance of getting approved by the Democratic-controlled House. The smokescreen strategy allowed Williams’ Republican yes men/women to say they tried to help the horse industry by voting for the Williams proposal. It would have raised taxes on the lottery, charitable gambling and out of state bets on Kentucky races and provide money for purses and breeders’ incentives. (The out-of-state betting tax increase  was a preposterous idea, since out of state tracks would have simply dropped the Kentucky signal on tracks like Turfway and Ellis Park and done more damage than good.)

Some of the Republicans who voted no on the issue probably were representing the strong moral beliefs of their constituents. But others who voted no, specifically the Lexington/Fayette County Senator, Alice Forgy Kerr, were sending a clear message to people in the horse industry that they do not matter.

Kerr is said to be very chummy with Mira Ball, who with homebuilding husband Don Ball is one of the largest contributors to Republican campaign coffers. The widespread belief of many in the horse industry is that the Balls and their Ball Homes want to see the horse industry fail, and the price of Central Kentucky acreage drop so they can build more tract housing. Don Ball and David Williams are closely allied in their opposition to gambling…at least by other people.

The Kentucky Equine Education Project or affiliated political fund-raising groups must now  turn their attention to people like Kerr and other elected officials in Kentucky who can be defeated in future elections by well-funded opponents who truly want to help the horse industry.

If Williams was the bully of this aborted effort by the horse industry to level the playing field with other states, Gov. Steve Beshear was the 98-pound weakling. He blew his opportunity in January 2008 to push the same legislation after winning election in a landslide over Republican Ernie Fletcher. And when he called the special session and put the VLT legislation on the agenda, Beshear failed to do what effective politicians do instinctively: call their friends and make sure you’ve got their support, and call your opponents and tell them in no uncertain terms why they need to be with you.

Another politician missing in action on this bill was Sen. Damon Thayer, a Republican who is a consultant in the Thoroughbred  industry and is a former executive at Turfway Park and the Breeders’ Cup. Thayer, who like any member of the state GOP who wants committee appointments has to fall in line with Williams, was silent on the slots issue. He isn’t a member of the Appropriations and Revenue Committee, but he could have influenced a more positive outcome and didn’t. Thayer never came out with a position on the bill, to my knowledge.

What happens next? There is only a glimmer of hope that some parliamentary procedures can bring the bill to a vote in the full Senate during this special session. Beyond that, we are looking at the January 2010 legislative session.

The problem is that, by then, Ellis Park will have had a disastrous summer meeting, and Turfway Park will be in a much less competitive position than they are now. The prospects of Kentucky losing its year-round circuit are real. The loss of breeding stock to other states or Canadian provinces is real. The summer and fall yearling sales will be down anywhere from 25%-40%, and the breeding stock will match that or worse.

The downward spiral of Kentucky’s horse business, as Keeneland’s Nick Nicholson pointed out in the Senate hearing, has come faster and harder than anyone could have predicted. And I hate to say this, but it’s not going to get any better without real legislative action.

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That tradition is threatened today by a struggling Kentucky racing industry that is unable to compete on a level playing field with other states that have allowed racetracks to expand their wagering menus to include slot machines and other casino games. The breeding industry is suffering as a result. The news in the past several days that Ohio’s governor will seek to add slot machines to racetracks in the Buckeye State will only make the situation more grave.

John Greathouse Jr. has written the following open letter to David Williams, the Republican president of the Kentucky Senate who said he does not want Kentucky tracks to have Video Lottery Terminals (VLTs) or slots. A VLT bill passed the Kentucky House on Friday but Williams has said a Senate Committee will kill the bill on Monday.

Time is of the essence Please write to Williams (click here for contact information) and tell him your thoughts on the subject and include either a link to John Greathouse’s letter or cut and paste the letter along with your remarks. Also, you can click here to send an email to all Kentucky Senators. — Ray Paulick

An open letter to Senator Williams
Senator Williams

My name is John Greathouse, co-owner of Glencrest Farm, a family farm just outside of Midway, Kentucky.  My brothers, David, Teddy, Allen and I own just over 800 acres where we raise cattle, tobacco, hay, corn and yes thoroughbred horses. To an outside developer this land may be worth many millions in terms of potential. To the people that work and live on the farm, it’s a way of life not commensurate with the development potential. We enjoy what we do and want to continue to do so. It’s a working farm that supported many in our family for over 50 years. We have several young Greathouses that are being trained to fill in our footsteps in the coming years.  It’s also the livelihood of the thirty or so people that work there and need to keep their jobs also.

I have been a Republican all my life. I am fairly conservative and that’s the way I vote. Reagan, the Bushes, Fletcher and you have all had a chance at one time or another to help this profession. All said NO! Now my Democratic friends shake their collective heads and ask why I vote the way I do. "Vote for your pocketbook, John," they say! To this point I have stayed the course.

Senator Williams, are you familiar with Pascal’s Wager? It’s a wager with unlimited upside but no downside. That’s what we have here with the expanded gaming bill. Unlimited upside and NO DOWNSIDE.  The money is currently leaving the State, so please try not to tell us people can’t afford to gamble!

Senator Williams, you should recuse yourself from these proceedings. You have been influenced by outside forces.  This State stands to lo se not only its flagship industry, but its international, worldwide identity.

Do the right thing please.  Kentucky needs it, the thoroughbred industry needs it, my family and our workforce need it.

John Greathouse Jr
Glencrest Farm
P.O. Box 4468
Midway, Kentucky 40347
859-233-7032

If the bill to approve video lottery terminals for Kentucky racetracks passes the state’s House of Representatives during the special session on Friday, the next battleground will likely be the Senate’s Appropriations and Revenue Committee later in the day. That’s the most likely scenario for the bill, the Paulick Report has learned from sources. Republican Senate president David Williams, an opponent of the bill, is expected to send it to the A & R Committee with the likelihood that it will be killed under the chairmanship of northeast Kentucky Republican Charlie Borders.

Interested parties are encouraged to personally attend the Senate committee meeting.

If you are unable to attend and want your opinion to be heard on the issue, call members of the committee to tell them where you stand. Click here for a list of members of the Senate A & R Committee. Once on the page, click on the names of the individual members to get contact information.