Family Foundation intervenes in ‘Instant Racing’ lawsuit
FRANKFORT – The Family Foundation of Kentucky, which opposes expanded gambling, has asked to intervene in a court case involving the legality of electronic gambling on previously run horse races, known as “Instant Racing.”
The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission last month unanimously approved regulatory changes to allow Instant Racing. In an effort to forestall anticipated legal challenges, the commission, along with the eight tracks in the state and the state Department of Revenue, asked Franklin Circuit Court to rule on the legality of implementing the games.
Martin Cothran, senior policy analyst for The Family Foundation, said the advocacy group filed a brief in Franklin Circuit Court Monday to intervene in what it calls a “one-sided case” that would expand gambling in the state beyond the current legal limits.
“As it stands right now, the court has a case before it in which only one side is being represented on a regulation that hasn’t even been approved and which the public has had no chance to comment on,” Cothran said. “We realize the horse racing tracks have a lot of political power in this state, but this makes it look like we’ve just handed them the keys to state government and given them the run of the place.”
Cothran called instant racing “just slot machines under another name. It is a back-door attempt to do what the gambling industry failed to convince legislators to do during the last General Assembly session: allow wealthy horse tracks to bypass the Kentucky Constitution.”
The state Constitution only allows betting on the state lottery and on live horse racing, Cothran said.
Bob Beck, racing commission chairman, said last month that the commission believes wagering on “historic races” is a pari-mutuel wagering product and that it has the constitutional authority to regulate it.
Dick Brown, a spokesman for the racing commission, said Monday the commission and the state revenue department will review The Family Foundation filing.
“Our primary effort remains focused on ensuring the court hears and rules on this important matter as quickly as possible,” Brown said.
A hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Sept. 1 in Franklin Circuit Court on the issue.
The state racing commission is to hold a public hearing on the issue at 10 a.m. Sept. 29 at The Red Mile.
–Jack Brammer
Filed Under: KY General Assembly • State Government
About the Author: 
This is exactly what we need, a group to tell us what we shouldn’t do. Although we do not gamble and rarely buy a lottery ticket; I defend the right for those that do. Instead of investing so much energy and money into not allowing anyone to participate, how about spending energy and money into educating people about the drawbacks of such activity?
Hey Family Foundation. Go support a guy like Rand Paul, who takes campaign donations from porn site operators, and thinks the drug problem in E. KY is non-existent. Put your efforts behind someone like that. Leave racing alone. Drugs in Eastern Kentucky, and around the whole state for that matter, are a bigger problem for KY than someone sitting at a slot machine. GO support Rand Paul, Family Foundation.
Josh. They can’t support Rand Paul. Rand has stated publicly on KET that he doesn’t support legislating morality.
The libertarians would support a wide expansion of gambling. Let people spend where they want.
I expect the Family Foundation is secretly jealous of the Taliban .. they wish to be sort of a Christian Taliban.
In fact I might consider that this is an expected transition over time:
Christian -> Christian Fundamentalist -> Christian Taliban -> Muslim Extremist
in other words, don’t the Muslim extremists seem to be just the ultimate expression of a Christian Fundi?
Gambling is a sh*t industry. Get real. Kentucky will never pull itself out of poverty & misery on a gambling-based economy. It is garbage. It is non-productive economic activity. It produces nothing, it creates nothing, it has no value. Why is the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission trying to turn the whole state into the gambling industry’s p*ss-pot?? I’m a 13th generation Kentuckian and I utterly oppose the gambling industry’s expansion into MY state. Where do I send my donation to the Family Foundation? Anyone who thinks gambling would bring money into the state for education etc is dreaming. Dream on, hick-morons.
@theyareabunchofnuts – try to confine your anti-Christian and anti-Muslim hate speech to the chapter meetings of your local Ku Klux Klan, of which I’m sure you’re a member, you filthy bigot.
the post “lynn” must be from a pro-casino state that does not want Kentucky to compete with them.
hey lynn – guess what, I’ve no problems with most Christians and Muslims. Most of them (and certainly all I know) are fine folks.
Its the extremists of both that I don’t care for, and that I think act the same.
So, you seem to be of the Christian extremist sort… always a wanting to tell someone how to live their life and sticking your nose in where it doesn’t belong.
Please crawl back in your hole.
Why are the right-wing Christians always the most ignorant people in any public debate?
and btw, I don’t do the religion thing or the gambling thing, or for that matter the drinking or drug things or many other ‘things’ … but as long as it doesn’t harm someone else, I’ve got no business telling folks how to live their lives, and neither do you.
And I’m perfectly willing for tax money to be spent on prevention of addiction, and dealing with addiction. I know that prohibition doesn’t work.
theyareabunchofnuts | Aug 23, 2010 | Reply
said: In fact I might consider that this is an expected transition over time:
Christian -> Christian Fundamentalist -> Christian Taliban -> Muslim Extremist
in other words, don’t the Muslim extremists seem to be just the ultimate expression of a Christian Fundi?
You are so completely wrong. It seems so very clear that you do not know what Christ is all about. I invite you to seek Him.
here we go … here comes the fundis. run for your lives! its going to get nasty now!
from an outsider in, sorry, christianity and islam just seems 2 variations on man’s many efforts to create a god in man’s image.
if you want to believe that stuff fine, just don’t try to jam it down other folks throats. I’ll grant the muslims are worse than the christians on that, but its only a variation on a theme.
I do believe I’ve detected some serious TROLLing going on here, and not the fishing kind.
I think some of you have swallowed it hook line and sinker.
You might be right about the trolling, but some folks, I think, wear their religion on their sleeves a bit much in these forums.
As far as ‘Family Foundation’.. to me its just another bunch of money grubbers. They may have had something else at one time, but the money has warped them .. money and power corrupt, and they are just another example of that.
If the churches want to play such a pro-active role in our state politics it is high time we revoke their tax exempt status. I am sick and tired of the spineless politicians listening to the self-appointed morality police. If you are against expansion of gambling then you will pay a 20% surcharge on your income taxes. That was easy!
It makes a lot of sense to hear the other side. It might be educational.
The government’s involvement in gambling strikes me as strange since gambling has primarily been connected to gangster activities. But government has learned the trade fast and very well. I see a lot of benefits in retrieving the welfare payments from those who have been thinking that everything is for free. So we’ll see if their life dream of winning big will be shattered. What is the pay out anyway?
It can’t get any better for the government collecting 45% tax on it. Keep on gambling if you want to be a certified loser!
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