Thursday, January 31, 2008
Final Racing License in Kentucky
I'll readily admit that I don't usually follow standard bred or
quarter horse racing, but reader TripCrown73 asked me what I
thought about the $20 million quarter horse track that is being
proposed near London, Kentucky by Sprint Racing Partners. This
group is applying for the final racing license that can be
issued in the Commonwealth, and is being scrutinized very
closely because of the racetrack casino debate that is
approaching in the legislature.
TripCrown73 specifically referenced the story in The Herald-Leader from Tuesday that reported that three of the Sprint partners have left the group. As I noted in my reply to his comment, my initial reaction to a quarter horse track in that part of the state is generally positive, however I was aware that there were "character" concerns in the local community about at some of the applicants -- specifically Randall "Dee" Hubbard and Dr. Edward Allred, two of the three men who were reported to have pulled out of the partnership.
As was reported in The Courier-Journal in December:
The fact that these two are no longer involved in the bid for the license is probably a positive for the remaining partners. But TripCrown73 asked if I thought that the state could support quarter horse racing -- I think it can.
According to statistics from the American Quarter Horse Association, 15,211 quarter horses started in races in the United States in 2006. In that same year there were 37,591 of the breed registered in the Commonwealth and another 51,956 registered in Tennessee. Considering that there are about 20 races that take place in the two-days at the Red Mile in Lexington each summer -- and while still taking into account that quarter horses are also used in rodeos, barrel racing, pleasure settings and as show horses -- I think that the current population can easily support several months of racing. In particular, I think that Laurel County's close proximity to Tennessee makes it an ideal location without, taking into account the possibility of turning the track into a casino.
Additionally, in 2006 the total purse of all quarter horse races nationally was $109 million, with a total handle of almost $350 million bet on these races -- there is no reason why Kentucky couldn't try to get a piece of that pie. I think a purse close to the national average of $12,000 could be supported by the entry fees, wagering and a fund similar to the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund -- as well as proceeds from expanded gaming if approved.
A race track -- not to mention casino -- would certainly bring more jobs to the area and would be a boon to the economy, and I reject the idea that such a facility would be a bastion of moral turpitude.
TripCrown73 specifically referenced the story in The Herald-Leader from Tuesday that reported that three of the Sprint partners have left the group. As I noted in my reply to his comment, my initial reaction to a quarter horse track in that part of the state is generally positive, however I was aware that there were "character" concerns in the local community about at some of the applicants -- specifically Randall "Dee" Hubbard and Dr. Edward Allred, two of the three men who were reported to have pulled out of the partnership.
As was reported in The Courier-Journal in December:
To make matters worse, Dr. Allred, who owns Los Alamitos in California, apparently made his fortune through his ownership of abortion clinics -- something that I had heard through rumor, but hadn't seen reported until the Herald-Leader story. And while abortion is certainly legal in this country, it would have been a major issue in the region and when combined with the prostitute issue of the other partner -- stuff like that doesn't fly in south-central Kentucky. As Edmunds told The Courier-Journal, "This is the type of unsavory group that Kentuckians fear most."After the hearing, Dave Edmunds, a policy analyst with the Family Foundation of Kentucky, said his group has concerns about the proposal, including Hubbard.
Hubbard surrendered an Indiana gaming license as part of a 2002 settlement with the state's gaming commission stemming from an incident where at least eight prostitutes were flown to a June 2001 golf tournament at Pinnacle Entertainment's Switzerland County casino.The prostitutes were flown to the Belterra casino on a jet leased by Pinnacle for a weekend of entertaining guests at an invitation-only golf tournament.
The fact that these two are no longer involved in the bid for the license is probably a positive for the remaining partners. But TripCrown73 asked if I thought that the state could support quarter horse racing -- I think it can.
According to statistics from the American Quarter Horse Association, 15,211 quarter horses started in races in the United States in 2006. In that same year there were 37,591 of the breed registered in the Commonwealth and another 51,956 registered in Tennessee. Considering that there are about 20 races that take place in the two-days at the Red Mile in Lexington each summer -- and while still taking into account that quarter horses are also used in rodeos, barrel racing, pleasure settings and as show horses -- I think that the current population can easily support several months of racing. In particular, I think that Laurel County's close proximity to Tennessee makes it an ideal location without, taking into account the possibility of turning the track into a casino.
Additionally, in 2006 the total purse of all quarter horse races nationally was $109 million, with a total handle of almost $350 million bet on these races -- there is no reason why Kentucky couldn't try to get a piece of that pie. I think a purse close to the national average of $12,000 could be supported by the entry fees, wagering and a fund similar to the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund -- as well as proceeds from expanded gaming if approved.
A race track -- not to mention casino -- would certainly bring more jobs to the area and would be a boon to the economy, and I reject the idea that such a facility would be a bastion of moral turpitude.