LEXINGTON, KY – As Kentuckians prepare for the Kentucky Derby, a new twist has developed in an 8-year-long court case involving wagering on historical horse races: One of the two Kentucky providers of the “historic horse racing” gambling technology is in court in Wyoming claiming that Kentucky’s second provider is unlawfully marketing their devices as “pari-mutuel” in that state. Parimax claims that the Exacta/Encore gaming system is not pari-mutuel. If correct, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission has approved a gambling system which is not allowed under Kentucky law.
“This is bizarre,” said Martin Cothran, spokesman for The Family Foundation. “One provider of the gambling technology is in essence agreeing with us in our court case, saying ‘The Exacta system of wagering is not pari-mutuel.’ If they are correct – and we believe they are – then the Exacta system is indeed unlawful in Kentucky as we have claimed in court.”
“In our trial held in the first week of January, we believe we proved that the Exacta/Encore gambling system was not pari-mutuel. We are currently awaiting the judge’s decision, but now we have a leader in the gambling industry making some of the same arguments that our attorney made . . . but in Wyoming,” said Cothran.
Cothran likened the situation to a police setting where two members of a gang are both captured and accused, and then one “rats” out the other for some advantage. “The gambling industry is always fighting within itself for the rights to other people’s money,” said Cothran. “For their interests in Kentucky, they certainly chose a poor time to go to court in Wyoming.”
This anomaly was noticed when attorneys for gambling machines in Kentucky filed papers on April 25 in Franklin Circuit Court case advising the court that “Instant Racing” machines were no longer operating in Kentucky, leaving only two “historic horse racing” systems currently active in Kentucky: Exacta/Encore and Parimax.
– CLICK HERE FOR The Family Foundation’s April 26 court reply filing. –
