Posts Tagged ‘steve beshear’

Only a few days after his Senate committee approved a KY horse industry aid bill including Instant Racing, Damon Thayer has withdrawn his bill from consideration. He now prefers that Governor Steve Beshear sign an executive order to bring the popular alternative to slot machines to Kentucky’s racetracks after opposition from anti-gaming groups.

It appears that Senate President David Williams has put the pressure on Thayer to withdraw the bill even after expressing the sentiment that it had bipartisan support.

"There’s still a chance (at passage)," Thayer said. "I just didn’t feel comfortable moving forward in its current form."

It begs the question, what has happened between six days ago when it came out of your committee and today Damon?

Read it at the Blood-Horse

Then come back to the Paulick Report and let us know what you think

- Bradford Cummings

In a rather bold move, Governor Steve Beshear of Kentucky produced a budget that assumes $780 million in revenue from expanded gaming. The problem? Gaming is not yet legal in Kentucky.

Beshear stated Kentucky would need to find an additional $850 million in cuts during the next two fiscal years, compared to about $78 million with it.

Click here for the Courier-Journal article

Then come back to the Paulick Report and let us know what you think

- Bradford Cummings

By Bradford Cummings

As we enter into the 2010 general session of the Kentucky House and Senate, it is important for Kentuckians to take a moment and look back at where we have come from in this fight to level the playing field with other states through expanded gaming in the Bluegrass State. While I am a bit of a latecomer to the discussion, my desire to merely add onto the gaming menu we already have at Kentucky racetracks grows with each day. As a Republican, one who rose to the position of chairman for the largest county in the state, the debate against slots at racetracks confuses me.
 
The Republican Party I signed up for was one that wanted less government control and more economic expansion. Talking to some of you in the last year, I suspect there will be many shaking their heads in agreement when I say that putting the irresponsible behavior of those few who would put their mortgage on the line for a slots jackpot should not hold more weight than the economic impact of killing our signature industry. Allow me to make my own decisions and stop shielding me from the consequences. That’s a party I can fully get behind and that’s the broken promise that finds many citizen GOPers very frustrated with the current climate.
 
Yet despite the party of Reagan falling off the edge in an overly zealous attempt to stonewall this economic issue of choice, it is important that we look back at the last couple of years and see how far we have come. The horse industry lost the last special election when Republican Jimmy Higdon beat Democrat Jodie Hayden, so it is easy to lose sight of our progress. But remember that election, for an open Senate seat in the 14th district, was about the lack of support for President Obama in Kentucky, not an opposition to expanded gaming.
 
A LOOK BACK

In 2007, our sitting Governor based his entire reelection campaign on the opposition to gaming. The Speaker of the House, a Democrat, was so unsupportive that he had never taken the issue to a committee vote much less the entire House.
 
While the Senate majority for the anti-slots argument is still intact today, it was much larger then and showed little chance of the needle moving on this issue.
 
And most troubling, a statewide poll showed that about 40% of Kentuckians supported putting VLT’s at racetracks.
 
SINCE 2007
 
The industry supported a candidate in a crowded Democratic primary field who largely based his campaign on expanded gaming. Not only did he win the nomination, but he was overwhelmingly elected Governor.
 
Greg Stumbo challenged Jody Richards, the aforementioned former Speaker of the House, and the horse industry worked tirelessly and effectively behind the scenes to help elect the pro-slots Stumbo.
 
The Kentucky Equine Education Project, or KEEP, has become an integral part of the discussion, becoming a strong branding tool for the state’s signature industry. KEEP has helped launch a broad-based communications and grassroots effort to educate Kentuckians about what the horse industry means to citizens of Kentucky. The focus was properly taken off the millionaire hobbyists and placed on the tens of thousands of farmers, insurance agents, feed companies and backstretch and farm workers that make this industry so important to our future.
 
HEADING INTO 2010
 
And where do we stand today? We have a Governor in Steve Beshear who is solidly committed to helping our industry by pushing for VLT legislation.
 
We have a Speaker of the House who drafted the legislation, helped push it through committee, brought it to the floor of the House and passed it. All firsts.
 
We have staged two extremely successful rallies – one in Frankfort and one at Keeneland – that had over 1,000 industry participants in attendance. While this industry is relatively new to political activism, we are certainly up for the fight!
 
And most importantly, we have significantly moved the needle on public opinion as a statewide survey taken before the Special Session this summer demonstrated support for racetrack VLT’s at 69%. This is a dramatic and unprecedented change in mood on what has been portrayed as a divisive issue. Can you imagine gay marriage shifting nearly 30 points over three years in Kentucky?
 
GETTING OVER THE FINISH LINE
 
Moving over the finish line and securing the victory that a clear majority of Kentuckians want to see will, just like in other endeavors, be the most challenging and rewarding part of this journey.
 
We must continue to support the efforts of KEEP, who under the leadership of former Democratic Gov. Brereton Jones and executive director Patrick Neely (a fellow Republican of mine) have helped push the needle in the right direction. Both have been instrumental in the progress described above.
 
We must not let up on our leaders in Frankfort. Continue to call your legislators and let them know how you feel. Ask your friends, family and associates to do the same. (Pick up the phone, dial it and hand it to them if you have to for God’s sake!)
 
Continue to support candidates that support the industry, both financially and through volunteer hours. And make sure to not only look to Democrats but also to pro-slot Republicans. I promise they’re out there.
 
Take heart in Attorney General Jack Conway’s opinion this last week that Instant Racing is constitutional with a few tweaks from the Governor’s office. This greatly hurts the rationale from those who claim passing slots legislation would get tied up in our court system for any extended period of time. Is Instant Racing that much different than a slot machine when opponents cite the major concern over slots as the speed in which a person can lose their money? Don’t ignore this development as insignificant.
 
Finally, despite what you feel about Damon Thayer’s amendment proposal, at least understand that this coming from a Republican in David Williams’ Senate means we are having an effect on the process. Can anyone imagine Williams allowing a member of his caucus to propose this type of legislation even last year? Indeed, this may be the strongest sign that the pendulum is shifting in our direction.
 
We are by no means out of the woods in this fight to save our industry. But there is also no doubt that it is a fight that can be won. Whether we find ourselves victorious in this year’s general session or if we have to fight it out at the polls in November, we must always remember just how far we’ve come in such a short period of time.
 
This is the year we take control of the conversation.
 
This is the year we have all been working so hard to be a part of.
 
This is the year of victory for the horse industry.
 
We have too much at stake for it to be any other year.

Copyright © 2010, The Paulick Report

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According to Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway, adding instant racing machines to Kentucky’s racetracks would only require a few regulatory tweaks by Governor Steve Beshear.

For those not familiar with Instant Racing, these slot-like machines are programed with thousands of previously run races for the player to bet on. Oaklawn Park currently uses these machines and report great returns on this investment.

Is this enough to give Kentucky racing the boost it needs? Or will this only hurt the slots argument and therefore keep slots from ever winding up in the Bluegrass State?

Click here for the Herald-Leader article

Then come back to the Paulick Report and let us know what you think.

- Bradford Cummings

By Bradford Cummings
It is amazing what a difference a year makes at the Paulick Report. Traffic has more than doubled, debate is livelier than ever and Ray has pledged to stop talking about jet lag. (I’ll believe it when I see it…or don’t see it) We made a cross-country trip to the Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita and raised $75,000 for two great causes in the process. Ray flew to South Africa on the premise that some horse people actually wanted to hear what he had to say, then later to Japan (where apparently he and David Hasselhoff are quite well known), where he took in some very exciting racing. And we have been blessed to have such a strong stable of supportive advertisers who believe in the mission we set off to accomplish in June of 2008. Perhaps most remarkably, we started a business two months before the largest recession since FDR and we are still kicking.

In what is turning into a tradition (if you can call twice a tradition) we are looking back at the year that was and rehashing the top ten stories based on reader interest. Basically, the more you clicked on these stories, the higher up the list they traveled. So take a trip down memory lane with us and let us know which stories still resonate with you today. Or let us know about a story that touched you we don’t have here. Because sometimes even 1.5 million user sessions can be wrong.

10. McLaughlin Horses Allegedly Test for Banned Substance in KY

In a year where horse racing started to admit it has a drug problem, it was disheartening to learn that Kiaran McLaughlin was a new member on the list of medication violators. A trainer that featured prominently on our American Graded Stakes Standings brought to you by Keeneland, McLaughlin had become a bit of a Paulick Report favorite as a successful trainer who found himself a bit under the national radar. Unfortunately for him, if his standing in Graded Stakes wins didn’t do it, our tenth most popular story of the year did.

9. Equibase Strikes Out

Perhaps no organization has had the upward trend on the Paulick Report that Equibase has experienced. In what was the most popular story on the Thoroughbred Racing Associations/Jockey Club-owned statistics company, we compared what Equibase provides versus what other major sports give their fans in the way of data. Unfortunately, the comparisons were not favorable as this industry seems content to charge its loyal customers for everything from parking to the very data Major League Baseball, the NFL and the NBA make readily available for its fans.

But whether it was the Paulick Report or an internal struggle that finally made its way to the light of day, Equibase started to get it right and quickly saw their headlines become more favorable. Equibase Takes Step in Right Direction and Equibase Gets It Right is more along the lines of what we’d like to write about. Keep up the momentum.

8. When It Comes to Douglas, Racing Stewards Share the Blame

Any time a jockey is paralyzed, it is an unspeakable tragedy. We saw it first hand on several occasions during our Breeders’ Cup or Bust fundraising tour when we had the opportunity to spend time with several permanently disabled riders. In a precursor to our decision to take on such a trip, Rene Douglas, the top rider at Arlington Park, was severely injured in a spill at the Chicago track when a horse ridden by Jamie Theriot brushed his mount in a move that stewards rarely penalize a rider for. Ray’s point was that stewards should keep a tighter rein on the race riding that goes on and far too often can lead to clipped heels and spills. By doing the best job they can do, stewards can help protect jockeys from serious injury.

7. Ziadie Blames Drug Violations on ‘Chaos’

What do you get when you combine a 60-day suspension for your 13th medication violation in Florida since 2004 with a rich stakes program at Calder? An opportunity to start four horses if you are legacy trainer Kirk Ziadie. One of several stories this year that were out there for the picking but ignored by the mainstream Thoroughbred media, people seemed to be drawn to the laundry list of infractions by this trainer who piles up the wins and medication violations in uncommon numbers.

6. Cullen: Sales Ban Only the Beginning

Know and Trust. That’s the ironic mantra of this Kentucky-based journalist turned bloodstock agent (hey, he’s giving journalism a bad name, if that’s possible!). It’s also the name of one of the horses that Jim Cullen consigned for his overflowing book of clients who have felt taken advantage of over the last several years. The evidence is too large to encapsulate in this brief recap but judging from the amount of people who read this story, you don’t really need a point-by-point description.

The only thing more disturbing than his previous actions was his personal defense, a convoluted web of seemingly nonsensical explanations that never really came close to exonerating him.

We aren’t saying he is the Bernard Madoff the horse industry, but there are some folks plenty mad at him. Oh, and Jim, the fact that Know and Trust ran a good race after this story came out is not newsworthy. It only proves that even a blind squirrel can find an acorn from time to time.

5. Indian Charlie: Racing’s Court Jester

It was a rough year for racing’s court jester, the sometimes funny and consistently offensive Indian Charlie aka Eddie Musselman. While his legal troubles were probably the most noteworthy news to come out of his newsletter in years, the readers of the Paulick Report really enjoyed reading the Indian Charlie parody being distributed on the grounds of the Keeneland September sale.

Who did the parody? We honestly have no idea. But at least it helped give what was a torturous sale a bit of levity.

4. Live Blogging: Kentucky Senate Committee Slots Hearing

The biggest news in Kentucky racing this year was by far the unsuccessful push for slots at racetracks through the state House and Senate. While it got narrow approval in the House, Gov. Steve Beshear’s slots bill stalled in the Senate’s Appropriations and Revenue Committee, stonewalled by David "Blackjack" Williams and his crew of Republican merry men.

Of course, Ray was there to watch the whole thing happen and reported live from Frankfort. Real time blogging, it’s the greatest thing since slots at the racetra…er…never mind.

3. Van Driver: Paraneck Horses Were ‘Walking Skeletons’

Not the way any website wants to experience a spike in traffic, but Ray was the first to uncover the absolute travesty that was the lice-infested and under-nourished stable of horses at Paraneck Stables in upstate New York. The pictures are gruesome and the effects of this tragedy are still being felt as horse welfare groups from around the country are trying to find homes for these truly victimized animals.

2. Live Blog: Mr. Paulick Goes to the Eclipse Awards

A man of many talents, Ray Paulick pulled off a feat of unprecedented magnitude…he live blogged the Eclipse Awards without a computer! Transmitting his thoughts and some appetizing pictures (we’re all still craving that dessert with the chocolate sticks on top) via his cell phone, Ray was able to give moment by moment updates to all of those people on the "tubes" who weren’t able to watch the TVG telecast. And looking at the number of comments and readers, that was no trivial number.

For those of you wondering, Barbara and I have since made up after she took offense to my comment about the shininess of Steve Asmussen. Love it or hate it, we call them like we see them here at the Paulick Report.

1. Hollywood Park Past-Posting Incident Under Investigation

At first blush, we were a little shocked that this story was number one. A past-posting incident, while surely problematic, is not the sexiest of topics. But when you consider it potentially hurt the pocketbooks of thousands of horseplayers across the country and the fact that we were first out of the gate with the story, it makes a whole lot more sense. Wouldn’t it be nice if the propeller heads at the tote companies were able to figure out how to stop betting when a race begins?

Copyright © 2009, The Paulick Report

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By Ray Paulick
Every Kentuckian’s favorite piñata, Republican state Sen. Damon Thayer, was Mike Penna’s guest last Saturday on the Horse Racing Radio Network’s “Equine Forum,” discussing, naturally, the issue of slot machines at Kentucky racetracks.

(To listen to a rebroadcast of the interview, click here.)

Thayer is feeling his oats these days, following the drubbing Republican Jimmy Higdon gave the horse industry-backed candidate, Jodie Haydon, in the recent special election for a Senate seat in the 14th district made available when the Republican incumbent accepted a judgeship offered by Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear. Had Haydon defeated Higdon, the Republican majority in the state Senate would have been wafer thin and the heavy-handed rule of Senate president David “Blackjack” Williams might have been in jeopardy.

But Williams and, I would assume, Mitch McConnell, the U.S. Senate’s minority leader from Kentucky, devised a brilliant last-minute scheme targeting prominent Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid as Higdon’s real opponents. It was enough to turn the election in Higdon’s favor in this rural, conservative district, where Democrats in name only outnumber Republicans in voter registration rolls by a wide margin. Higdon won despite being heavily outspent by Haydon, thanks in large measure to a 527 organization, Keep Our Jobs in Kentucky, formed by prominent members of the horse industry who backed Haydon because of his position in favor of video lottery terminals or slot machines at Kentucky racetracks.

Thayer is feeling much maligned these days as a result of his non-support of a bill permitting racetrack VLTs that died in a Senate committee last summer and his more recent proposal for a constitutional amendment on the issue. That proposal fell on deaf ears during an October meeting with horsemen who called the measure “too little, too late.”  (click here for details). In the wake of the horse industry’s recent setback at the polls, Thayer said he plans to push his proposal forward in the legislative session that begins in January and urged leaders of Kentucky’s horse industry to get behind it, or at the very least work with him on the bill.

“It’s not beneficial to the horse industry that despite the election loss they keep speaking out on my bill,” Thayer said during his radio appearance. “I have some Republican votes for this bill. I think you’ll be surprised by the number of Republicans who would vote for this. Democrats said they would block vote against this, which I think is fraught with peril.”
 
Thayer repeated his stand that he believes “slots by statute”–as he called the bill that was passed by the House but stopped in a Senate committee last summer—is not constitutional and would be held up by a lengthy legal challenge if it passed. Kentucky’s current attorney general said the statute would not be unconstitutional, though previous attorneys general opinions have gone the other way. “And by the way,” he added, “it is dead for the foreseeable future, OK, because there are not the votes in the Senate.”

A horse industry consultant who formerly worked for Jerry Carroll at Turfway Park and as an executive with the Breeders’ Cup, Thayer said he understands the economic pressure the horse industry is facing from the slumping economy and gaming in other states that is subsidizing tracks and purses. “There is no doubt, absolutely no doubt, the horse industry in Kentucky is suffering from not only the downturn in the economy, as is the horse industry throughout the United States, but also from an uneven playing field. I get it. I worked at Turfway Park when casino boats landed in Indiana.”

Thayer said many in the horse industry misunderstood the challenge those casino boats presented at the time. “No, no we don’t need to worry about those riverboats in Indiana, we don’t need to worry about casinos and slot machines in surrounding states” he cited as the prevailing opinion. “We’re Kentucky. We can withstand that. All those people changed their opinion.”

Penna challenged Thayer on the timeline a constitutional amendment would present, along with language in the bill that would open bidding on VLTs to businesses other than racetracks in the seven Kentucky counties were tracks exist. Thayer’s proposal, if it is approved by the legislature and passed by a simple majority of Kentucky voters in November, would then require local referendums, followed by a bidding process.  Opponents have said implementation could stretch out until 2012 or ’13 if approved, but Thayer said slots could be up and operating as early as mid-2011. He also thinks the statewide referendum “could pass…my personal opinion is it’s probably a tossup. I believe the horse industry has made progress convincing people of the importance of this industry to every county. I think you shouldn’t be afraid of having a statewide debate on this issue. It would be huge. Huge. The press would cover it. You would get an opportunity to make your case like you’ve never done before in a statewide debate, and I think it would have a chance of passing.”

As for opening the bidding process to non-racetracks, Thayer said, “These slot licenses are things of value to the Commonwealth.” One of the things he said he heard during last summer’s failed effort to pass legislation was, “Why do the racetracks get a monopoly on this?”

Thayer chided the horse industry to work with him on the legislation calling for a constitutional amendment, which he said the Kentucky Equine Education Project and pro-slots Gov. Beshear previously supported. “Somewhere along the way in the last 12 months they changed their positions and decided they wanted to pursue what I call slots by statute,” he said. “People see (Beshear) has flip-flopped on the issue…and he has egg on his face.”

“My bill is the only bill that has the potential of passing the next legislative session,” he said. “A hundred million dollars would go into purses and breeders incentives in Kentucky…I guess I’m struggling to find out what part of $100 million doesn’t benefit the horse industry…

“I’ve had this proposal out since September. That’s three months ago. I put it out there early so we could have a discussion about it and people could talk to me about what they have issues with in the bill. Since then all that’s happened is people have criticized me and questioned my motives. If they really want to pursue this they need to come talk with me. This is a very controversial issue that’s been debated since 1993. It’s time to move the bill.”

Copyright © 2009, The Paulick Report

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