Georgia Legislator Renews Effort to Legalize Horse Racing in State

The push to legalize horse racing in Georgia goes back years, but the sport's proponents have never been able to get it across the finish line. Now, a recently elected State Senator who is an owner and breeder hopes to change that. Billy Hickman, a Republican from Statesboro, Georgia, is determined to see the sport come to his state and is confident his efforts will succeed.

“I believe we will get this done,” Hickman said. “We are doing a good job trying to educate people. We have three Republican Senators who own interests in race horses and another Senator owns an interest in a pinhooking partnership. They are all leaders. They are not underlings. We're working hard to make this happen.”

In March, the move to legalize the sport suffered another setback. Hickman and others were behind a Senate Resolution that, if passed, would have allowed the state's voters to decide on horse racing's future. It was expected that the voters would approve legalizing the sport but they never got the chance. The Senate voted 33-20 in favor of Senate Resolution 131, but that wasn't enough to meet the two-thirds requirement for a constitutional amendment to move forward to the House. Hickman's side needed five more votes. Religious and anti-gambling forces were able to stop the resolution. Ironically, a bill to legalize sports betting passed in the Georgia Senate by a 41-10 margin.

“We've all met people who could not handle gambling,” Senator Marty Harbin told Georgia Recorder after the resolution was shot down. “It's a health problem, because among those who are addicted to gambling, there's a high suicide rate as well that goes along with that.”

When Hickman, a certified public accountant who entered the State Senate in 2020, took office he was an obvious choice to lead the push to legalize racing in Georgia. He's been around horses since competing in barrel races as a child and owns nine horses in various partnerships, plus two yearlings and two broodmares. He also pinhooks four or five horses a year.

“I love this stuff,” he said. “Racing is my passion. I'm not just somebody sitting on the sidelines saying this is something we have to do. They were always trying to get someone in the Senate or in the General Assembly who understood racing and was willing to push for it. Now they have someone in the Senate who understands the sport and the benefits it would bring to the state.”

Those benefits include 8,500 jobs and the creation of a $1.28-billion industry, the numbers Georgia Southern University came up with after being brought in by Hickman to conduct an economic impact study.

“As much as I love racing, if it doesn't make economic sense for Georgia I don't want to do it,” Hickman said. “We did the economic impact study to make sure this would be good for Georgia. I need for it to make business sense. The 8,500 jobs, that's more jobs than Lockheed Martin, more jobs than Chick-fil-A, more jobs that Synovus Bank. So, it's a big, big deal.”

But for those for numbers to pan out, racing in Georgia would have to be a success. The easiest way to make that happen would be to allow the tracks to open casinos. Hickman said that's not going to happen because he knows that would doom the effort to bring the sport into the state. He also said there are also no current plans to push for Historical Horse Racing Machines.

“Around here, 'casino' is a bad word,” he said.

But he acknowledges that racing would need an alternative revenue source to make it. What that might be? He's not sure.

“We would need something else to provide money for the purses and we are working on that,” he said.

Another issue is who would put up the money to build a racetrack if doing so didn't include opening a casino or, at the very least, having the HHR machines? Hickman said there are companies willing to invest in Georgia racing.

The Georgia Southern study explored having three tracks in the state, the largest of which would be in the Atlanta area. Another track could be built in the Savannah area.

“Georgia's biggest industry is agriculture,” Hickman said. “This would be a huge boost for our agriculture industry. It will take a while to build up the industry, but I see us having the type of purses where a maiden race would go for $65,000. We have 11 million people in Georgia and 5 million in the Atlanta area. Kentucky only has 4.5 million people.”

Hickman is in the process of collecting names of those in Georgia who take part in the Thoroughbred business and/or want to see the sport come to the state and is encouraging those people to reach out to him at Billy.Hickman@senate.ga.gov.

“We are in the process of developing a data base of supporters as a defacto petition to show the Georgia Legislature the ground swell of support behind this initiative,” he said.

His supporters include prominent owners and Georgia residents Dean and Patti Reeves, who have been at the forefront of the effort to bring racing to the state. Dean Reeves is a board members of the Georgia Horse Racing Coalition, an advocacy group trying to bring horse racing to Georgia.

As involved as Hickman is in the sport, he isn't contributing to the Georgia economy. His horses are bred in and foaled in either Kentucky or Florida. He sells his horses in Ocala and in Lexington and races up and down the map, but not in his home state.

“I purchased my first Thoroughbred at the Ocala Breeders' Sales,” he said. “Since then, my wife and I have bred, trained, raced and pinhooked many Thoroughbreds. Unfortunately, those dollars are being spent in neighboring states that have legalized pari-mutuel betting on horse racing.”

That's something he'd like to change. Hickman will reintroduce a resolution to legalize the sport when the State Senate reconvenes early next year. In the meantime, there will be some campaigning and some arm twisting.

“I am confident we will see there be horse racing in this state.” he said. “And that will be good for horse racing and good for Georgia.

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Pari-Mutuel Bill Approved by Kentucky House Committee

Kentucky House Bill 607, which contains a provision to greatly benefit horseplayers by effectively eliminating breakage, was overwhelmingly approved Wednesday morning by a Kentucky House of Representatives committee. HB 607 also standardizes the tax rate on all pari-mutuel wagers placed in Kentucky and also makes claiming races eligible for Kentucky-bred purse subsidies. The bill must still be approved by the full House before being sent to the Senate.

Representative Adam Koenig, whose district in Northern Kentucky is near Turfway Park, is a primary sponsor of the bill, which also has the capacity to significantly increase revenue to the state General Fund while allowing horse racing to thrive.

“In a couple of years, we're looking at a $27-million increase, probably at a minimum,” Koenig told the committee, noting that's in addition to the $62 million projected to flow to the state from pari-mutuel taxes in 2022. “So the money is coming in from the industry. I think I found some creative ways generating additional money without hurting the product.”

The bill is the product of last year's legislative interim task force on pari-mutuel wagering that was chaired by Koenig and Kentucky Senate Majority Leader Damon Thayer, a long-time supporter of the Kentucky racing industry. Created following the passage of legislation that protected Historical Horse Racing (HHR) in the state, the task force was charged with identifying ways to increase state revenues without negatively impacting purses and without discouraging racetracks from investing in HHR operations and associated capital projects.

Penny Breakage A Positive Development…

A key element of HB 607 is the virtual elimination of so-called breakage, where tracks round down winning payoffs to the nearest dime based on a $1 wager. Under HB 607, tracks would be required to pay off to the nearest penny, resulting in greater amounts of money returned to horseplayers. Koenig cited the example of 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify paying $7.80 to win in the GI Kentucky Derby, a figure that would have been $7.92 with penny breakage.

“That is the bettors' money,” Koenig said. “I've been very interested since last year's HHR debate in making sure the bettors are taken care of. We took care of everyone else. Everyone is getting healthy on this except for the bettors, and this is how we're going to help the bettors. They're going to get paid to the penny rather than every 20 cents. In addition to taking care of the bettors, it will make Kentucky the place in North America to wager. If you're someone who wagers a lot of money, why would you bet anyplace else?” (Click here to watch Adam Koenig on a recent episode of the TDN Writers' Room podcast).

Also easily passing the “L&O” committee Wednesday were bills that would legalize betting on sports in Kentucky and provide funding for problem gambling.

Additionally, HB 607 calls for the taxation of pari-mutuel wagers at 1.5%, the same rate assessed for HHR gaming. The bill raises the current rate for bets placed through ADWs from 0.5%. The tax rate on simulcast wagers placed at a Kentucky track on an out-of-state race would drop from 3%. The majority of bets are now placed through ADWs, while simulcasting has shrunk considerably as horseplayers opt for the convenience of wagering online.

KTDF Supplements Expanded…

Currently, money from the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund (KTDF) is restricted to non-claiming races, but HB 607 cancels that stipulation, a policy change that has been strongly advocated for by the Kentucky HBPA in an effort to raise purses for the lower-level races in which many horsemen compete.

Rep. Al Gentry, a member of the pari-mutuel wagering task force, called making claiming races eligible for KTDF supplements “very, very important and one of the big pieces of the bill.”

Given that HHR has helped Kentucky to be in a position to offer some of the highest purses in the world, and with HHR revenue expected to grow with the expansion of satellite facilities, HB 607 also stipulates that after KTDF money reaches $40 million and the Kentucky Standardbred Development Fund its $20 million in a year, the rate going to purses would decrease, with the difference channeled to the state's General fund.

“We believe in two or three years, when the Historical Horse Racing facilities are more mature, that we're looking at $20 million additional in the General Fund,” Koenig told the committee. “The increase in the ADW tax from one-half to 1 1/2% will immediately generate $4 million a year. That's the growth area, so that will continue to go up over time.”

 

 

 

The bill also:

 

  • Provides funding to the equine programs at the University of Kentucky and Bluegrass Community and Technical College. The University of Louisville business school's Equine Industry Program already receives funding from pari-mutuel wagering.

 

  • Eliminates the 15-cent per person admission tax racetracks currently pay even if they don't charge admission (which is every track except Churchill Downs and Keeneland).

 

  • Requires tracks to maintain a “self-exclusion” list–where individuals such as problem gamblers can say they don't want to be allowed into a track or HHR facility for a given period of time–to be shared with the racing commission and the other tracks and HHR properties.

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Kentucky Legislative Task Force Won’t Recommend Raising Taxes On Historical Horse Racing

Kentucky's Pari-Mutuel Wagering Taxation Task Force will not recommend raising the tax rate on historical horse racing, according to an op-ed written by the Lexington Herald-Leader's Linda Blackford.

Representative Adam Koenig (R), who oversaw the task force with Senate Floor Majority Leader Damon Thayer (R), plans to instead devise legislation that would standardize the many different tax rates on different types of wagering, including a potential raise in the taxes on advanced deposit wagering.

“I'm trying to thread the needle between those who want an increase and those who want to do nothing,” Koenig told the Herald-Leader. “But I'm trying to thread it so we can generate more income.”

Other task force recommendations include losing the admission tax, evaluating the legalization of sports wagering, and donating a portion of historical horse racing proceeds to college equine programs.

Read more at the Lexington Herald-Leader.

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Economic Analysis: HHR To Help Grants Pass Downs Have $10.7 Billion Impact Over Next 30 Years

The highly anticipated gaming, entertainment and dining venue, The Flying Lark in Grants Pass, Ore., has released an economic impact study analyzing the horse racing industry in partnership with Grants Pass Downs. Independent agency Hunden Strategic Partners (HSP) identified a significant positive impact in job creation, tax and earnings impact to the local economy, as well as the opportunity to provide funding and stability to the equine industry throughout the region. 

The Economic Impact Analysis identified the positive impact to Southern Oregon over the next 30 years, including: 

  • $10.7 billion in net new spending 
  • $3.6 billion in net new earnings 
  • 2,007 net new full-time jobs 
  • $361.9 million in tax impact to Oregon 

HSP conducted market research and interviews with representatives from local, regional and national organizations to understand the horse racing industry and its impact through three primary components: Grants Pass Downs and the Flying Lark, fair meets, and horse-related spending. The study was designed to determine the economic impact of the horse racing industry in Oregon with the Flying Lark in operation and determine the value of the Flying Lark and Grants Pass Downs within the industry in Oregon. 

“The local community was surprised to learn of the significant economic impact the horse racing industry had in Oregon back in the 2012 economic impact study,” said Randy Evers, President of Grants Pass Downs. “While horse racing struggles to survive in other states, today the vision of leaders at both Grants Pass Downs and The Flying Lark will be a major factor for economic growth and stability, most importantly for Southern Oregon, but also the entire state.”

The study discloses the positive impact as industry-changing. The Flying Lark has the unique opportunity to create a legacy, putting Grants Pass and the Josephine County Fairgrounds on the map as a year-round destination. In collaboration with Grants Pass Downs, together they will help restore the horse racing industry, including horse owners, trainers, veterinarians, jockeys, and a wide range of partners, vendors, and suppliers across Oregon. There is a positive cycle of spending and impact between gaming and horse racing.  

Historic Horse Racing (HHR) revenues will supplement the industry, including:

  • Larger purses from pari-mutuel wagering, 
  • Boosted interest in the sport due to greater race quality, 
  • Rising visitation stemming from growing interest, 
  • Improved foal crops as horse ownership becomes more profitable, and
  • Overall positive trends within the industry. 

“The Flying Lark will have a substantial impact on Thoroughbred breeding in Oregon,” said Lynnelle Fox Smith, Executive Director for the Oregon Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association. “By knowing the purses will be sizable and the facility will be successful, breeders will continue investing in broodmares, stallions, and breeding to support Oregon's agriculture.” 

The Flying Lark was founded by Grants Pass Native, Travis Boersma, with a commitment to horse racing and Southern Oregon, opening in the winter of 2021.  The 35,000 square-foot destination has something for everyone; including Jacks, a full service family restaurant, Longshots sports bar, the Winner's Circle bar located in the center of the state-of-the-art historical horse racing (HHR) terminal floor, based on pari-mutuel wagering, and banquet facilities. 

Known for its beautiful natural scenery, parks, outdoor recreation, and wineries in Southern Oregon, The Flying Lark will also open The Wonder Walk. This world-class equine-based art walk will beautifully surround the facility and feature pieces by regional artists that celebrate horses' majestic nature, power and beauty. 

About The Flying Lark 

Proudly from Grants Pass, Oregon, The Flying Lark is Southern Oregon's premier  gaming and entertainment destination, including an inviting family culinary dining  experience and the inspiring Wonder Walk outdoor art display, featuring regional artists.  The Flying Lark, named after one of the most famous stallions in Oregon's history, was  designed for our customers, community and team members to celebrate the past, present and future, with the magic and beauty of horses. For more information and  regular updates, visit: TheFlyingLark.com 

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