A Kentucky Supreme Court ruling issued Thursday reversed a 2018 court decision which had determined instant racing was a permitted type of pari-mutuel racing in the state, calling into question the future of a significant component of funding for horse racing in the state.
A civil suit brought in 2018 by the Family Trust Foundation of Kentucky against the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, Kentucky Department of Revenue, and the various racing associations in Kentucky, had claimed Encore instant racing machines weren't permissible under Kentucky's definition of pari-mutuel wagering. The Franklin Circuit Court determined the Encore system did qualify as pari-mutuel wagering because money bet through instant racing terminals went into a collected pool from which patrons were paid out.
The state supreme court disagreed, pointing out that Encore instant racing customers are not betting on a single race simultaneously, and that after a pool is paid out completely it must be refreshed by the wagering authority. These details, according to the opinion, run counter to the legal definition that pari-mutuel wagering takes place with money generated only by patrons betting against each other on a single event.
“We acknowledge the importance and significance of this industry to the Commonwealth,” the state supreme court opinion read. “We appreciate the numerable economic pressures that impact it. If a change, however, in the long-accepted definition of pari-mutuel wagering is to be made, that change must be made by the people of this Commonwealth through their duly elected legislators, not by an appointed administrative body and not by the judiciary.”
Encore gaming systems are currently used at Keeneland, Red Mile, Kentucky Downs, and Ellis Park.
Read the supreme court opinion here.
The post Kentucky Supreme Court Determines Instant Racing Game Not Pari-Mutuel appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
