Exacta Systems Announces New HHR System After Kentucky Supreme Court Decision

Exacta Systems announced today that it will introduce a new Historic Horse Racing (HHR) system in Kentucky following a decision of the Kentucky Supreme Court. In its ruling on whether HHR as currently operated in Kentucky fell within the Kentucky statutory requirements, the Kentucky Court wrote that wagering “requires that patrons generate the pools based on wagering on the same discrete, finite events.”

The Court also held that initial seed pools should not be permitted. As the Court interpreted Kentucky law and announced these requirements, the decision necessarily impacts all HHR system providers and operations in Kentucky.

“While we are disappointed with the Court's decision, we do appreciate the clarity that the Court has provided as it pertains to HHR in Kentucky,” commented Exacta Systems President Jeremy Stein. “After several years of litigation, we now have certainty on how HHR systems must operate in the state.”

“In anticipation of this ruling, Exacta has devoted several months of development time to produce an alternate HHR system that complies with the Supreme Court decision,” continued Stein. “After reading opposing legal briefs and hearing the questions asked at oral arguments, we wanted to have an alternative system in place that addressed the objections raised by opposing counsel and the various Justices, as a contingency in the case of a negative ruling. The updated Exacta system is fully compliant with the requirements as articulated by the Supreme Court, and we are excited to present our updated system to the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission in the coming days.”

Read about the state supreme court's decision, and access the complete ruling text here.

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Kentucky Supreme Court Determines Instant Racing Game Not Pari-Mutuel

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.

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Report: 27 Workers At Keeneland Tested Positive For COVID-19 Since May 9

As states continue the rolling back COVID-19 closures and restrictions, the Lexington-Herald Leader reported Friday that more workers at Keeneland have tested positive for the virus than any other employer in Lexington.

Since reopening in Kentucky began on May 9, the newspaper reported 27 people at the track have tested positive. Most of them are backstretch workers, rather than Keeneland employees.

All but two of the 27 have since been cleared to return to work.

Keeneland officials reported that 1,000 tests have been administered to workers as part of its biosecurity protocol. Anyone testing positive is required to quarantine off-site.

Read more at the Lexington Herald-Leader

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