kentucky horse racing | Horse Racing Free Tips

Kentucky’s HHR Bill Hinges on Definition of ‘Pari-Mutuel Wagering’

The legislative fix to legalize historical horse race (HHR) gaming in Kentucky will hinge on a one-paragraph definition of “pari-mutuel wagering” that a bipartisan group of state senators want added to an existing list of definitions that pertain to regulating horse racing.

The text of SB120 was posted online Feb. 3, one day after the bill was introduced.

Senator John Schickel crafted the statutory attempt to keep HHR operational, and his measure has the backing of Senate President Robert Stivers, Senate Majority Leader Damon Thayer, plus five other legislators listed on the co-sponsor page of the bill.

Their effort will try to preserve what has grown into a $2.2-billion annual handle source that has bolstered Kentucky's purses over the past decade (the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund's purse-money cut from HHR is three-quarters of 1% of that handle).

This source of funding was put into peril on Jan. 21, when the Kentucky Supreme Court denied a petition for rehearing an earlier judgment that called into question the legality of HHR because it didn't amount to “pari-mutuel wagering.” The fight over that legal definition, led by anti-gambling activists, has worked its way through the court system ever since HHR was first allowed by the state in 2012.

Although the six-page bill includes a handful of other line items or word changes that pertain to how properties and premises are defined, the crux of the bill relates to a new definition of “pari-mutuel wagering” that has been inserted in an alphabetical list of terms where no definition previously existed. It reads:

“Pari-mutuel wagering,” “pari-mutuel system of wagering,” or “mutuel wagering” each means any method of wagering previously or hereafter approved by the racing commission in which one (1) or more patrons wager on a horse race or races, whether live, simulcast, or previously run. Wagers shall be placed in one (1) or more wagering pools, and wagers on different races or sets of races may be pooled together. Patrons may establish odds or payouts, and winning patrons share in amounts wagered including any carryover amounts, plus any amounts provided by an association less any deductions required, as approved by the racing commission and permitted by law. Pools may be paid out incrementally over time as approved by the racing commission.

Schickel said before he filed the bill that it will have a Feb. 4 hearing in the Senate Licensing and Occupations Committee, of which he is the chairman. That Thursday hearing, however, was not yet posted on the committee's online calendar before the late-afternoon Wednesday deadline for this story.

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Kentucky Legislator Files Bill To Raise Taxes On HHR, ADW, Claims Racing Gets ‘A Sweetheart Deal’

Kentucky State Rep. Kim King (R-Harrodsburg) filed a bill in the state's legislature this week to raise tax rates on advance deposit wagering and historical horse racing handle in Kentucky, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader. After researching the issue, King said the current tax rate on ADW is far less than on live bets.

“I think they've really been getting a sweetheart deal and it needs to be updated,” King said.

King's bill would raise the tax rate on HHR activity from 1.5 percent of average daily handle to 3 percent and the rate on ADW from .5 percent to 3 percent. She believes the proposal could generate as much as $40 million for the state to spend on schools, health care and other projects.

King filed a similar bill last year but it did not get out of committee. Rep. Adam Koenig (R-Erlanger), who is a member of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission's Equine Drug Research Council, opposes the measure, expressing concern that tax increases would be passed on to the bettor. Koenig is also chair of the House Committee on Licensing, Occupations and Administrative Regulations, where the bill stalled last year.

In 2020, ADW handle in Kentucky was $282 million, of which $1.4 million went to taxes and only $212,093 went to the state's General Fund. HHR handle was $2.2 billion, of which $33.8 million went to taxes and the General Fund received $15.1 million.

Read more at the Lexington Herald-Leader

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Bill Filed In Kentucky To Allow Sports Wagering, Awaits Committee Assignment

Kentucky legislators will get another chance to consider whether they want to permit sports wagering in the state after giving the notion a relatively chilly reception last year. According to The Blood-Horse, Rep. Adam Koenig (R-Erlanger) introduced a bill on Jan. 9 that would permit sports wagering at racetracks and Kentucky Speedway, with regulatory oversight falling under the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission.

Online sports betting and online poker would also become allowed under the legislation.

Sports wagering is currently permitted in Indiana, Illinois, Tennessee, and West Virginia. Kentucky's legislature has been considerably less eager to expand gambling in the state in any way.

Similar legislation last year was discussed at the committee level and approved but was not entertained on the House floor. This year's bill is awaiting assignment to a legislative committee for consideration.

Kentucky's horse racing industry still awaits a legislative fix to legality issues with historic horse racing which has already been in force in the state and provided revenue the sport has relied upon in recent years.

Angel Montano, Longtime Kentucky Trainer, Dies on 80th Birthday

Angel O. Montano Sr., a longtime Kentucky-based trainer, died Oct. 1. The Churchill Downs publicity department confirmed the death, noting in a Twitter posting that his passing coincided with the date of his 80th birthday.

Daily Racing Form reported the cause of death as numerous health issues complicated by a recent hospitalization for COVID-19.

According to a 2010 profile in the Evansville Courier & Press, Montano arrived in Louisville at age 17, taking a three-day bus ride from his native Mexico City after his contract as a jockey was purchased by a Kentucky-based owner. But he was hurt in a spill while galloping a horse in the morning and never rode in a race.

Montano rose through the ranks on the backstretch and in 1961 started training on his own, earning a reputation for being able to bring out the best in cheaper horses. He was admired and respected by backside employees and horse owners alike for treating his animals and other people with dignity and respect.

Despite keeping relatively small stables, over the decades Montano won three seasonal training titles at Churchill Downs, five at old Miles Park in Louisville, four at old Latonia (now Turfway Park), and four at Ellis Park, according to the Courier & Press feature story.

On the 1995 GI Kentucky Derby undercard, the Montano-trained Goldseeker Bud, a 20-1 long shot, upset the previous year’s Derby champ, Go For Gin, in the GIII Churchill Downs H. It was the only graded-stakes score of Montano’s nearly 60-year career.

“I can’t ask for any better,” Montano told the Courier & Press in 2010.”I’ve got my wife and seven kids, who all graduated from college and are doing great. And I’ve got my horses and friends. The racetrack has been good to me. The horse business can be good to me. It’s been a good life.”

Montano’s wife of 58 years, Patricia, also known as “Mom Pat,” predeceased him in 2018.

Visitation hours are Oct. 7 from 2-8 p.m. at Ratterman Brothers Funeral Home, 12900 Shelbyville Road in Louisville (this is the East Louisville location; please note there are two Rattermans locations in the city). A funeral service will be held Oct. 8 at 10 a.m., with details to be posted here.

Montano’s family is asking for memorial gifts in his honor to be donated to the Backside Learning Center at Churchill Downs.

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