Fixed Odds Discussed in Kentucky Legislative Hearing

[Wandering Eyes]

The topic of fixed odds wagering on horse racing took center stage in a hearing of Kentucky’s Interim Joint Committee on Licensing, Occupations, and Administrative Regulations Wednesday. Executive Director of the Thoroughbred Idea Foundation Patrick Cummings discussed the future of fixed odds betting on horse racing following the TIF’s white paper on the matter was published in February. The Committee, which includes 15 members of the Kentucky State House and 11 from the Kentucky State Senate, oversees “matters pertaining to professional licensing not assigned to other committees,” which includes horse racing in the state.

“I am incredibly appreciative of Chairman Adam Koenig’s invitation to speak with the Committee in consideration of horse racing’s involvement in any future sports betting legislation, or even a standalone revision to existing regulations that would enable racing betting in Kentucky to be more than just a pari-mutuel endeavor,” said Cummings. “The reception and feedback today was positive and constructive, and I took that as a very positive sign for racing.”

“For the future interests of horse racing in America, and naturally here in Kentucky, it would be concerning if racing was not part of a modernization with fixed odds bets to complement pari-mutuel wagering. It just makes sense to meet the demand of customers with products that are presented to them in other sports, and I think Kentucky is prepared to lead the way on this.”

In his full remarks to the Committee, Cummings noted that horse racing is facing threats from grey operators, offshore bookmakers legal in some jurisdictions, but not American states, who are meeting the demand of the market with fixed odds bets on racing.

“If someone seeks advanced odds on the Kentucky Derby or Breeders’ Cup, an offshore, fixed odds bookmaker is one of the top search results in Google. In fact, Churchill Downs’s own legal, online wagering platform, TwinSpires, which has handled more than $1 billion in pari-mutuel bets in the first two quarters of 2019, is outranked on Google by one of these platforms when searching for the term ‘Kentucky Derby odds.'”

Cummings added: “These gray operators do not contribute to the sustainability of American racing, plain and simple. Horse racing should be presented to customers in formats that meet the direction of the market, and as of now, the only ones really doing that are the offshore books. It is within the power of these legislators to start changing that and enabling tracks in Kentucky to take the lead in diversifying the wagering options for customers to included fixed odds. This would a tremendous example to other states and would benefit the state, horsemen, the betting public and anyone affiliated with the thoroughbred industry.”

To read Cumming’s complete remarks to the Committee, visit RacingThinkTank.com

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