Tuesday, 7 July 2009
Fear Mongering
Do you want to know what fear mongering looks like? Stumbo provides us with a front row viewing.
Wow. The ultimate in fear mongering. Some other track is going to take the Derby away from Kentucky because they have expanded gaming. That is just not going to happen. The Kentucky Derby is THE race in horse racing. It is the equivalent of the Open of golf. It is one the major races in the horse industry. If someone decided to have a golf tournament the same week as the U.S. Open in golf with a purse 10 times the size of the Open do you think any of the top players would go?A racetrack owner, presumably bankrolled with casino revenue, puts up a $5 million purse for a race on the same day as the Kentucky Derby.
Would it lure the country's best horses away from the Derby's $2million purse and dilute its reputation as America's signature horse race?
That's the scenario House Speaker Greg Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, raised recently as he summed up Kentucky's latest failed effort to add slot machines to its racetracks.
"We would be foolish to believe that no one would ever take shots against us," Churchill Downs spokesman Kevin Flanery said in response to Stumbo's hypothetical scenario. "The point is that we can't take for granted the position of Kentucky's thoroughbred industry as it relates to other states, and we can't take for granted the position of the Derby as it relates to other races."
No. Because golfers are remembered for winning major tournaments and not a lot of money. Secondly, they already have a lot of money and don't need to big paycheck. They would rather have the prestige of winning the major tournament.
The same principle applies to horse racing. Do you want a Kentucky Derby trophy on your mantle or do you want Joe's Big Money race trophy? If you are in horse racing, the answer is a no brainer. The Kentucky Derby is one of the major races. Nothing is going to take that away from Churchill Downs. Secondly, the people in the industry already have money. They wouldn't be in the thoroughbred industry without have a shload of it. So there is no way a few extra million dollars would entice the top trainers and owners away. The prestige is much more important than money.
Stumbo, by floating this turd, is doing nothing but fear mongering on the topic of slots at tracks. He hasn't been able to gain any traction of his unconstitutional bill and is now taking absurd arguments to instill even more fear in hopes of turning votes. What is amazing is that the Courier Journal is facilitating this idiocy by running the story on the front page. Especially a story that is nothing but conjecture. But then again, I am never surprised with how low the local media will go to support their pet projects.
