Kentucky Downs in Franklin is among Kentucky horse tracks awaiting the final go-ahead to allow wagering on re-shown horse races after a judge ruled Wednesday that such betting would be legal under state law.
The decision by Franklin County Circuit Judge Thomas Wingate could open the door to wagering on previously run races. But because an anti-gambling group is promising to appeal, Kentuckians need not rush out to place bets.
Jon Goodman, general manager at Kentucky Downs, couldn’t say with certainty this morning that his track would add the so-called “historic” betting, but he said it’s “definitely under consideration” as the judicial process continues.
“I think it would be a shot in the arm not just for the tracks, but for the industry,” Goodman said. “And a shot in the arm is a good thing.”
The regulations would allow tracks to accept pari-mutuel bets on rebroadcasts of the old races, stripped of the names of the horses, jockeys and trainers.
The latest push to allow bets on re-shown races has been a strong revenue generator since it began a decade ago at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas, where it’s known as Instant Racing. The track now has 400 Instant Racing terminals, which generate $3.5 million in purse money each year.
Goodman said he hasn’t personally seen the Instant Racing setup at Oaklawn Park, but he’s been told that the system uses looped footage of the final few moments of anonymous, previously run races. A bettor places pari-mutuel wagers on those races just as he or she would on a live race.
Gov. Steve Beshear, who has pushed various gambling initiatives aimed at generating revenue for the horse racing industry, said Wednesday he is pleased with Wingate’s ruling.
“We feel strongly that the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission has the statutory authority to regulate historical horse racing, and we expect revenue produced from these games will help support our trademark racing industry,” Beshear said.
Kentuckians are allowed to bet on horse racing, bingo, pull-tabs and lotteries, but lawmakers have resisted opening the state to other forms of gambling.
The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission approved the regulations at issue in July in hopes of boosting revenue for struggling tracks in the self-proclaimed horse capital of the world.
The Beshear administration, along with horse track executives, sought the ruling on the legality of the regulations. The Kentucky Family Foundation, an antigambling group, intervened in the case, arguing that state law allows betting on live horse races, not recorded repeats.
“We obviously intend to appeal to a higher court, which we think will pay closer attention to the argument that this is not pari-mutuel wagering,” said Martin Cothran, a policy analyst for the Family Foundation.
House Speaker Greg Stumbo said Wednesday he doesn’t expect the legislature to take action on the regulations until the appeals process has finished. In Kentucky, the legislature is charged with approving or rejecting regulations.
“We don’t think that elected lawmakers are going to be nearly as impressed with the argument that watching videos of old horse races is the same as watching a live horse race, which is the only thing that Kentucky law allows for,” Cothran said.
— The Daily News’ Daniel Pike contributed to this report.

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