Slots pass KY House; Williams making Senate vote dubious

[Riot]

Originally Posted by Scav

Yep, I agree with him, if these states don't want to listen, close the place down.

Mr. D did that very thing, I forgot why he did it, but racing is more alive then ever around here now....

Can anyone explain to me why Thayer didn't get to vote? I met him and have talked with him on a couple occasions about some other stuff, and he is about as pro horse racing person as I have ever met

Apparently only when it's politically expedient for him to be so. He's done in my mind. And I will be happy to tell him to his face next time he's glad-handing Georgetown.

Mr. D shut down Arlington until the Legislature gave him tax relief and simulcasting. That was when Elgin got riverboat gambling, I think, and he wanted slots at Arlington.

[freddymo]

Originally Posted by philcski

Here's the P.O.S. that killed Kentucky racing.

Killed what Ellis friggin Park or Turfway in Feb? And why are these meets so critical to the fabric of racing? I just don't get. Phil you are going to have all the horses continue to race just at other healthy meets. Keeneland is fine and CD ain't going anywhere. Whats the biggy?

[Round Pen]

Originally Posted by Coach Pants

Hopefully one fine day when the religious zealots in this state get everything their way it will eventually backfire because their sheeple won't have the means to tithe.

F.uck religion.

Being A christian myself and also someone who is deeply involved with thoroughbred horse racing i had no problem with them passing this bill but for you to make an attack on religion is totally unappropriate.

Steve I am not sure why you allow this sort of thing to Go on by inserting a . or a / there. There is absolutely no reason to use this sort of language in this forum.

Originally Posted by Round Pen

Being A christian myself and also someone who is deeply involved with thoroughbred horse racing i had no problem with them passing this bill but for you to make an attack on religion is totally unappropriate.

Steve I am not sure why you allow this sort of thing to Go on by inserting a . or a / there. There is absolutely no reason to use this sort of language in this forum.

Actually it is very appropriate. Also it is typical for a "christian" to try and censor.

Way to go.

[philcski]

Originally Posted by freddymo

Killed what Ellis friggin Park or Turfway in Feb? And why are these meets so critical to the fabric of racing? I just don't get. Phil you are going to have all the horses continue to race just at other healthy meets. Keeneland is fine and CD ain't going anywhere. Whats the biggy?

It's pretty simple. Ellis gets killed off, the horsemen move their lower-level stock to Indiana for the midsummer, Turfway gets killed off, the horsemen move to Tampa or whatever for the winter, next thing you know they don't return for the Churchill or Keeneland meet because they're happy where they are. Churchill and Keeneland cannot exist as boutique meets. If you don't notice the decimation of Churchill this season I can't help you see what I mean.

[GBBob]

Originally Posted by philcski

It's pretty simple. Ellis gets killed off, the horsemen move their lower-level stock to Indiana for the midsummer, Turfway gets killed off, the horsemen move to Tampa or whatever for the winter, next thing you know they don't return for the Churchill or Keeneland meet because they're happy where they are. Churchill and Keeneland cannot exist as boutique meets. If you don't notice the decimation of Churchill this season I can't help you see what I mean.

At least for us, Turfway served a real purpose last Jan-March...The purses obviously aren't great, but if you are based in the midwest and part of your stable are Poly/Grass horses that aren't good enough to run on what FG calls grass and you don't want to ship to Tampa, Turfway was a nice bridge to AP.

Geary will shut Ellis down. He is set in his ways and made his fortune with the help of government through ResCare. He's never really had to take a risk without the certainty of a lucrative reward and that will not change.

He bought Ellis Park in hopes of getting slots. And every time he whines to the media he gives fuel to his opponents who have no sympathy for a multi-millionaire who doesn't get his way.

I hope that there will be someone out there with patience and deep pockets who actually cares about the employees of Ellis Park and the tri-state area who will buy Ellis and ride this out until slots are introduced.

Quite frankly if he can't afford to wait two years (which is complete BS) then he should move on and let a savvier businessman take over.

[philcski]

Originally Posted by GBBob

At least for us, Turfway served a real purpose last Jan-March...The purses obviously aren't great, but if you are based in the midwest and part of your stable are Poly/Grass horses that aren't good enough to run on what FG calls grass and you don't want to ship to Tampa, Turfway was a nice bridge to AP.

Exactly my point...
And to our Tampa contingent, I think we all can agree it's a great place to winter but a lot of people don't want to ship back and forth with cheaper horses because shipping is EXPENSIVE.

P.S. I may be invading on Jul 11th!

[Bigsmc]

Originally Posted by GBBob

At least for us, Turfway served a real purpose last Jan-March...The purses obviously aren't great, but if you are based in the midwest and part of your stable are Poly/Grass horses that aren't good enough to run on what FG calls grass and you don't want to ship to Tampa, Turfway was a nice bridge to AP.

Come on Bob, ship to Tampa. It'll give you an excuse to escape Chicago in the winter to watch your horses run.

I'll take over for Scav's drooling in the winner's circle, you'll just need to send me one of those sporty BG tees.

Your horses will also be fit as a fiddle for their return at AP in the spring. Tampa shippers =

[Scav]

Originally Posted by philcski

It's pretty simple. Ellis gets killed off, the horsemen move their lower-level stock to Indiana for the midsummer, Turfway gets killed off, the horsemen move to Tampa or whatever for the winter, next thing you know they don't return for the Churchill or Keeneland meet because they're happy where they are. Churchill and Keeneland cannot exist as boutique meets. If you don't notice the decimation of Churchill this season I can't help you see what I mean.

Keeneland can exist, everyone wants to win there, everyone

[citycat]

The point is that not everyone can win at Keeneland. Lower level claiming horses make up the backbone of the sport. For those who cannot see that this is a tragic event for horse racing in Kentucky they really do not understand the depth of the industry.

[Scav]

Originally Posted by citycat

The point is that not everyone can win at Keeneland. Lower level claiming horses make up the backbone of the sport. For those who cannot see that this is a tragic event for horse racing in Kentucky they really do not understand the depth of the industry.

I understand fully, I was just commenting on Phil saying they couldn't exist, they would be the only track to be competitive

[philcski]

Originally Posted by Scav

Keeneland can exist, everyone wants to win there, everyone

keep in mind their purses are supplemented by the sales revenue, which will decline if kentucky is no longer the center of the racing world as breeders move out of state. they also have a very healthy simulcast operation as you know with no competition in lexington, which probably isnt going anywhere, but can kentucky racing thrive with a 6 week churchill meet and two 3 week keeneland meets? most definitely not.

[GBBob]

Originally Posted by philcski

keep in mind their purses are supplemented by the sales revenue, which will decline if kentucky is no longer the center of the racing world as breeders move out of state. they also have a very healthy simulcast operation as you know with no competition in lexington, which probably isnt going anywhere, but can kentucky racing thrive with a 6 week churchill meet and two 3 week keeneland meets? most definitely not.

Do you think KEE would ever consider longer meets? As you mentioned, as of now, they still have considerable revenue from the sales. And even if some Breeders do move out, do you think the KEE sales would suffer?

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by GBBob

Do you think KEE would ever consider longer meets? As you mentioned, as of now, they still have considerable revenue from the sales. And even if some Breeders do move out, do you think the KEE sales would suffer?

They would not extend the meets. The sales revenues are still significant but are falling and will be in a freefall through November. The Keeneland sales also have a new, more consignor friendly Fasig Tipton to contend with. This means that the purses at Kee will be in jeopardy. While the purse level at Keeneland is sustainable through the next two meets you will see a drop in purses next Spring. Understandably some people fail to see the importance of Ellis and Turfway to a KY racing circuit but in doing so also fail to see that if those tracks are healthy and competitive that horseman will be able to maintain a base in KY. Without those tracks many horseman simply will relocate to other states which have longer or year round meets. And many already have.

[Left Bank]

Originally Posted by philcski

keep in mind their purses are supplemented by the sales revenue, which will decline if kentucky is no longer the center of the racing world as breeders move out of state. they also have a very healthy simulcast operation as you know with no competition in lexington, which probably isnt going anywhere, but can kentucky racing thrive with a 6 week churchill meet and two 3 week keeneland meets? most definitely not.

Sorry,but The Keeneland simulcast operation is one of the worst I have ever been to.They do not carry a lot of tracks,there are tons of mexican two and three year old children screaming and running around all over the place,They need more SAM machines,and they are closed on Monday and Tuesday.And it gets even worse during the live meet.Every other place I have been in the U.S. is open 7 days a week.Keeneland does NOT cater to the simulcast player at all.I'd drive to Churchill any day instead of going to Keeneland for a day of simulcast play.The only thing they have that is cool is drive thru betting.

[Cannon Shell]

Originally Posted by Left Bank

Sorry,but The Keeneland simulcast operation is one of the worst I have ever been to.They do not carry a lot of tracks,there are tons of mexican two and three year old children screaming and running around all over the place,They need more SAM machines,and they are closed on Monday and Tuesday.And it gets even worse during the live meet.Every other place I have been in the U.S. is open 7 days a week.Keeneland does NOT cater to the simulcast player at all.I'd drive to Churchill any day instead of going to Keeneland for a day of simulcast play.The only thing they have that is cool is drive thru betting.

I dont think CD is open on Mondays or Tuesday either.

[Left Bank]

None of them are open on monday or tuesday,so that is lost revenue for them.Lots of tracks run on those days,and unless you have a computer account,if you're in KY,you ain't playing.

[Riot]

Originally Posted by Left Bank

None of them are open on monday or tuesday,so that is lost revenue for them.Lots of tracks run on those days,and unless you have a computer account,if you're in KY,you ain't playing.

I've been to Keeneland simulcasting on cold January days when it's disgusting to walk in there due to the swearing, yelling, drunk crowd; but I have also, far more frequently, been there when it's families, couples, nicely crowded, etc. It's not a huge simulcast facility, and it's not set up to be only a simulcast facility except when there isn't live racing (the individual TV's and carrolls, etc) but certainly they do try to do it right, and they try to listen to the customers.

I've been at Kee (with a couple other Dee Tee people, I think) when Keeneland had a company going around taking a survey on what the patrons want out of the facility; and I've heard Nicholson talk to the handicappers there on HANA day, about how Kee feels about gamblers. They want to do it right, I give them great credit.

Much nicer than Turfway simulcast area on a cold Friday night - yikes!

[Riot]

Here are the e-mails of the Appropriations and Revenue Committee members that voted NO on House Bill 2. Just in case somebody wants to cut and paste them to an e-mail header, and do the following:

If you live in Kentucky, write them and tell them that because of their vote, you will not vote for them at re-election time, and you will actively campaign against them at re-election in their district through your friends, etc. Tell them that because of this vote, you will donate campaign contributions, not to them, but to their opposition candidate.

If you don't live in state, you can explain to them how they have damaged Kentucky racing, how incredibly stupid the alternate proposal (that won't pass) of taxing out of state gambling on Kentucky tracks is (why should you pay more), and how although you can't vote them out of office at re-election time, you will happily send money to support any candidate that opposes them.

A&R Committee
Charlie Borders - R, Chairman - NO
Robert (Bob) Leeper - I (caucases w/R) Vice Chairman - NO
Ernie Harris - R - NO
Dan Kelly - R - NO
Alice Forgy Kerr - R - NO (Lexington)
Vernie McGaha - R - NO
Brandon Smith - R - NO
Robert Stivers - R - NO
Gary Tapp - R - NO
Elizabeth Tori - R - NO
Jack Westwood - R (Westwood is traveling out of the country and will not be present to vote) - Absent
RJ Palmer - D - Abstain

Charlie.Borders@lrc.ky.gov, Bob.Leeper@lrc.ky.gov, Ernie.Harris@lrc.ky.gov, Dan.Kelly@lrc.ky.gov, Alice.Kerr@lrc.ky.gov, Vernie.McGaha@lrc.ky.gov, Brandon.smith@lrc.ky.gov, Robert.Stivers@lrc.ky.gov, Gary.Tapp@lrc.ky.gov, Elizabeth.Tori@lrc.ky.gov, Jack.Westwood@lrc.ky.gov, RJ.Palmer@lrc.ky.gov

And you can ask Damon Thayer, the self-professed government voice of the horse industry, why he didn't strongly come out in favor of this Damon.Thayer@lrc.ky.gov

The following people can be thanked for their support of Kentucky horse racing:
David Boswell - D - YES
Tom Buford - R - YES
Denise Harper Angel - D - YES (Churchill District, father retired trainer)
Joey Pendleton - D - YES
Tim Shaughnessy - D - YES

Denise.HarperAngel@lrc.ky.gov, Joey.Pendleton@lrc.ky.gov, Tim.Shaughnessy@lrc.ky.gov, David.Boswell@lrc.ky.gov, Tom.Buford@lrc.ky.gov,