Reggie Thomas

A bill introduced by Senate Republican Floor Leader Damon Thayer to create a new government corporation to oversee horse racing in the state has passed through the Kentucky Senate and will move on to the Kentucky General Assembly, according to the Kentucky Lantern. Senate Bill 299 was heard in a joint meeting of the Senate and House economic development committees Tuesday morning and won Senate approval in a 26-11 floor vote in the afternoon. The bill would create the Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corporation to replace the Kentucky Horse...

by Sara Gordon and Katie Petrunyak Many of the nearly 250 people attending the Kentucky Thoroughbred Farm Managers Club's (KTFMC) monthly meeting, held Tuesday evening at the Keeneland sales pavilion, were unfamiliar with the unregulated and untaxed gaming machines known as "gray machines." The risk these gray machines pose to historical horse racing (HHR) gaming and the state's horse racing industry as a whole were the main topic of the meeting that included a discussion and Q and A session of Central Kentucky legislators. In a panel moderated by the...

The Kentucky Equine Education Project (KEEP) announced that it will host a horse industry advocacy event at Midway University Tuesday, Sept. 6, from 5-7 p.m. Participants in Kentucky's signature horse industry are invited to attend to learn about legislative issues that can impact their equine business, how to engage in the legislative process, and how to best communicate with lawmakers. In addition to representatives from KEEP and the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association, speakers include Senate Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer, Senate Minority Caucus Chair Reggie Thomas and Representative Matt Koch. Candidates...