I doubt he'll feel much heat. The local press hasn't been "for" slots, exactly, as they tend to cater to the religious anti-gambling view.

Many - maybe most - in Kentucky view the horse industry as the hobby legacy of self-funded millionaires who came and built great farms and run horses in the Derby. They really don't care about the "rich horse folks". They don't think these people need help by introducing "more gambling" (not true, but that's the impression). They say, "Look at all the rich people buying horses at Keeneland.", and boy, the Derby is busy, and these people have much more money than I do, so what do they need government financial help for?

Seriously, the vast majority of the general public in Kentucky could care less about horses. And that's IN the bluegrass region - they don't care at all in the rest of Kentucky.

They don't understand that the above is not representative of the depth of "the horse industry" around here, that it's the vets, farriers, small farms, feedstores, etc. that make up the industry, not just Keeneland and the former glory of Calumet. And all the non-thoroughbred horses, too (we've lost the Standardbred industry from here)

It was attempted in this fight to show the public and the legislature what "is" the horse industry, how many "small" people will be affected, but it apparently failed.

Kentucky has always been unusual in the way they dealt with the horse and farms here. Historically, the business has been left to the rich owners of the farms and the horses and the tracks, frankly. There has never been good state or government involvement in agriculture and horses here, believe it or not, and now we've suffered when we've come with our hand out. They frankly don't believe we need any financial help, slots are just a way for the rich to get richer.

On the contrary the people of KY were firmly behind this bill if you believe any of the polling that has been done.

Was talking about this with my agent who is based in lousiville and she was saying everything that she was hearing on the radio was in favor of slots..

The religious opposition was strictly fueled by out of state casino money and politicians that were looking for cover. There is very little true religious opposition from the citizens.

don't underestimate the rooneys freddy mo , they will make it one way or another

But not for the benefit of the horse industry - for schools, health initiatives, that type of thing. And the fun of gambling. I'm not seeing any public (non-horse people) backlash at what the A & R Committee did. They don't seem to care.

That's not true here in central Kentucky, in Paris, Georgetown, Cynthiana (although the lines at the lottery are long enough Fridays! <g>) Louisville and Cincinnati are certainly more metropolitan, but churches - and what the pastors preach Sunday morning - has alot of pull around here. We just got liquor sales on Sunday (and remember we just got the ability to sell liquor in restaurants only about 7 years ago) in Georgetown, and religion was the only reason. Plenty of local non-horse people here very against adding more gambling (slots).

Sure, it's a good cover for the pols, but it's real.

That isnt true. The schools and other things were added at the last minute well after many of the polls were taken. There is a lot of backlash being directed at Williams in particular in the handling of the whole affair which rightfully has pissed people off.

There is very little religious opposition for the VLT's. It simply isn't true. I am not saying that there isn't a segment of the population that would vote against it but they won't spend money or go out of their way to try to defeat it. Virtually every dime that was spent in opposition to this measure came from "other" sources. Religion is simply a cover. Hell in the end the Republicans weren't even bothering using the moral high ground anymore.

Funny how religion gets brought into this.Do they understand MUSLIMS spend the most at KY sales????

I saw the stuff about schools, etc. two years ago.

I think the full force of the horse industry certainly has to backlash at Williams, and should, and will, but among the non-horse people around here this morning, nobody much cares about it. It's a political football, as you described, it doesn't involve the non-horse public.

People not in the horse industry in central Kentucky really don't pay any attention, nor do they care much.

Chuck, there's two populations here: the horse people and politicians, and the general public - who really doesn't care all that much, as it doesn't directly affect them.

In the general public spectre, yes, religion against slots is a rallying cry. Yes, I agree, they didn't spend alot of money fighthing it, as they really didn't give a darn one way or the other. That was my point. Kentucky, as a state, the general citizenry, really lets the horse people do their own thing. They don't care.

Edit: that said, I think that if this got on a general population ballot, it would pass (probably our only chance now), but it would degenerate into the religious vs everyone else. I do think the general public in Kentucky, overall, would vote for slots, but with amendments added that they could have "not in MY county!" type of thing (so the local pols would kiss butt to their constituents)

Wow. I just went to kentucky.com (the Lexington Herald-Leader site) and although there's a picture and a comment, the story isn't easy to find at all.

When it's all gone,the masses will be bitching.:zz:

Or buying up the land to put subdivisions down; or being the ones buying the house in yet another bland suburban box subdivision.

Every time I drive Man O' War's birthplace on Georgetown Road, now filled with small suburban houses, I wanna puke.

Oh - there is a roadside historical marker, though

Reading this thread is like taking an 8 yr stroll down memory lane for me - only insert the name "Busch" instead of "Williams", and the state of "Maryland" instead of "Kentucky".

Exact same game of politics, exact same arguments for and against, but this time the political party is switched. 6 years ago in MD, it was the Repubs backing slots with the Dems firmly propped against. Put a Dem in as Gov, and Dems are for, Reps against.

Get out your belly ache medicine because this will take so many twists in turns as it plays out that it will make you sick - assuming it hasn't already.

Our referendum passed almost 8 months ago and the one slots facility proposal (Cordish) that seemed to have the best chance of being anything is languishing with a local piss-ant County Zoning Hearing Board where those morons keep putting off voting yea or nay to re-zoning the land.