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November 12, 2009

In Your View — 11/13/09

Anonymous The Daily Independent Thu Nov 12, 2009, 02:58 PM EST

Senator’s plan won’t help racing

Sen. Damon Thayer’s statement regarding his proposal of a constitutional amendment to place video lottery terminals (VLTs) at race tracks does no more than continue his masquerade of feigning support for Kentucky’s horse industry.

Never once did he say that he understands Kentucky’s struggling signature industry and the competition it faces from the 12 states that attract our horsemen with lucrative purses and breeders’ incentive funds supplemented by expanded gaming revenue.

In fact, he admits that he pre-filed this legislation just “to take the issue off the table.”

Instead of discussing the plight of Kentucky’s horse industry, Sen. Thayer focuses on the political history of past expanded gaming measures.

This is no coincidence, because his true motivation for sponsoring a constitutional amendment is political.

Sen. Thayer talks about working in a bipartisan manner out of one side of his mouth, but bashes Gov. Beshear and the Democratic Party out of the other.

Saving jobs and building a stronger economy in Kentucky is not, and should never be, a partisan issue. This is not about Democrats or Republicans. This is about allowing our signature industry to compete with surrounding states on a level playing field.

Sen. Thayer would not support our effort to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot four years ago when there was time to save our signature industry.

Now that it is too late to save our jobs with this process, he pretends to support our industry. Shame on him for pretending to be something he is not!

Gene Clabes, Interim executive director, Kentucky Equine Education Project