Tracks should not get rehearing on “Historical Racing” appeal, group says

LEXINGTON, KY – The Family Foundation this week filed legal responses with the Kentucky Supreme Court arguing against the petitions of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission and several state horse racing tracks to have the 10-year historical racing case reheard by the Court. 

This week’s filing by The Family Foundation argues against any additional oral hearings. “The Supreme Court has already heard this case twice,” said Martin Cothran, spokesman for the group. “Not only that, but their case has been argued at one time or another by twenty-one of the best, most influential, and highest paid lawyers in the state. The result was a 7-0 beatdown by the Court. Are these same attorneys going to somehow find, after ten years of arguing the case, better arguments? Are they going to find better, more influential, higher paid attorneys? We doubt it.”

The Supreme Court declared in a unanimous 7-0 decision on September 24 that one of the most common brands of historical racing machines now being used at horse track gambling parlors were not parimutuel in their method of wagering and therefore violated state law. The same non-parimutuel method of wagering appears to characterize the other brands of historical racing, a reality that the industry itself seems to realize.

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