Historical Horse Racing

Dear Friend of Coolmore America, As a valued client and friend of Coolmore America we need your help to take action and keep the Kentucky thoroughbred business strong and vibrant. Due to a recent ruling by the Kentucky Supreme Court the future of the horse business in Kentucky along with the more than 60,000 jobs and more than $5.2 billion in economic impact is now at a crossroads and in jeopardy. Over the last decade historical horse racing has helped the horse industry flourish and has created thousands of jobs and...

As a second-generation horse trainer and Kentuckian, my entire life has been spent in Thoroughbred racing. I've seen Kentucky racing at its finest, and I've seen how quickly out-of-state competition can render us increasingly irrelevant. Right now Kentucky is at the top. But it doesn't have to stay that way. I currently have 50 employees and do business with more than 100 vendors in Kentucky alone. Without Historical Horse Racing (HHR) revenue supplementing the purses for which our horses compete, many of those jobs will have to leave the state,...

A Kentucky State Senator whose district includes Turfway Park said Thursday that he intends to file legislation and hold a hearing next week to make historical horse race (HHR) gaming legal, "maintaining the status quo" for the revenue flow that annually contributes tens of millions of dollars to purses in the state. "Next week, I will file legislation to keep historical horse racing operational in Kentucky," Senator John Schickel (R-Union) stated in a Jan. 28 press release first published by WTVQ.com. "The bill, which I am pleased to say will...

To our loyal horsemen, partners, employees and fans, On behalf of Keeneland and the broader Kentucky equine community, we are reaching out to you today to ask for your help. Historical horse racing (HHR) fuels Kentucky's signature horse industry, strengthens purse money for racing, provides valuable jobs and generates millions in tax revenue to benefit investments across the Commonwealth. A recent Kentucky Supreme Court ruling has put the future of historical horse racing, and therefore the health of Kentucky's equine industry, in jeopardy, causing Keeneland and Red Mile to temporarily...

There are few people in racing more qualified to speak on the health of the sport than Lane's End's Bill Farish. In addition to running the historic farm, Farish is on the board of the Breeders' Cup, chairman of the Horse PAC and serves on the Board of Trustees of the Keeneland Association, the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation and the University of Kentucky's Gluck Equine Research Foundation. Wednesday, Farish joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland, calling in as the Green Group Guest of the Week to explain why...

Two days after Keeneland Association and Red Mile announced they would be shutting their joint historical horse racing (HHR) venture at the Lexington harness racino while imploring the Kentucky legislature to provide "more clarity" regarding the disputed legal status of HHR, Vince Gabbert, Keeneland's vice president and chief operating officer, was called upon during the Jan. 26 Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund (KTDF) teleconference to explain why that decision was made in the absence of any formal order from state officials to cease HHR, which is ongoing at other licensed locations...

by Elisabeth Jensen and Doug Cauthen We believe and assume that most people reading this letter know that Historical Horse Racing (HHR) has been in the news a lot lately. But to quickly summarize, just last week, the Kentucky Supreme Court officially ruled that it would not rehear the case where it ruled, in principle, that at least certain HHR machines could not continue UNLESS the Kentucky Legislature provides legislation to allow HHR to qualify as pari-mutuel racing per the definition they alone can provide.  This is an urgent issue,...

Keeneland Association and the Red Mile issued a joint press release Jan. 24 announcing the closure of historical horse race (HHR) gaming that the two tracks operate in partnership at the Red Mile harness track. The Sunday morning decision came three days after the Supreme Court of Kentucky ruled that it will not rehear an appealed Sept. 24 decision that told a lower court to re-examine the legality of the most crucial form of funding for purses in the commonwealth. "We were disappointed the Kentucky Supreme Court denied our petition...

The Supreme Court of Kentucky ruled Jan. 21 that it will not rehear an appealed Sept. 24 decision that told a lower court to re-examine the legality of historical horse race (HHR) gaming in the commonwealth, keeping the most crucial form of funding for purses at the state's five Thoroughbred tracks in peril. HHR handled $2.2 billion during the Commonwealth's most recent fiscal year, and revenue from that form of gaming annually contributes tens of millions of dollars to the Kentucky purses. This form of gaming has been operational--but challenged...

Turfway Park's new grandstand and historical racing machine (HRM) facility won't get built until the state of Kentucky clears up the ambiguity surrounding the apparent illegality of that form of video gambling, which contributes tens of millions of dollars annually to purses in the state. That news was delivered by Bill Carstanjen, chief executive officer of Churchill Downs, Inc. (CDI), in an Oct. 29 third-quarter earnings call with investors. CDI, a gaming corporation with six Thoroughbred tracks in its portfolio, acquired Turfway last year and soon thereafter embarked upon a...

Saying he'd "like to briefly address the elephant in the room," Kentucky Horse Racing Commission chairman Jonathan Rabinowitz opened the board's Oct. 20 videoconference meeting by attempting to reassure the racing community that elected and appointed officials are working to find a solution to a Sept. 24 Supreme Court of Kentucky opinion that told a lower court to re-examine the legality of historical horse race (HHR) gaming. HHR handled $2.2 billion during the commonwealth's most recent fiscal year, and revenue from that form of gaming annually contributes tens of millions...

In addition to all the Stateside action this weekend--the final leg of the Triple Crown, Fall Stars Weekend at Keeneland and 11 Breeders' Cup "Win and You're In" events--the biggest race of the year in Europe will also be run with Sunday's G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp in Paris. Wednesday on the TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland, TDN International Editor Kelsey Riley joined the crew as the Green Group Guest of the Week to talk about the much-anticipated showdown between Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) and...