Jockeys’ Guild national manager Terry Meyocks, formerly an executive with the New York Racing Association, will seek the Kentucky Senate seat currently held by Republican Alice Forgy Kerr in the November 2010 election.
Meyocks filed as a Democrat. Forgy Kerr has come under fire from Democrats and members of the horse industry for voting against legislation to authorize video lottery terminals at Kentucky racetracks earlier this year. Forgy Kerr was a member of the Senate committee that kept the bill from a full Senate vote.
“It goes back to trying to protect and save our industry,” Meyocks said Oct. 21 as to why he is running for office. “We’re the horse capital of the world. This is about the economy and about jobs.”
Meyocks filed Oct. 1 and has hired Dale Emmons to handle his campaign. He said he will seek financial support from not the only the horse industry but business leaders in Senate District 12, which includes part of Lexington.
“I’ve been thinking about this since July,” Meyocks said. “It wasn’t done on a whim. I started talking to business leaders in Lexington and the Democratic people in Frankfort in the last several months.
“The Thoroughbred industry is a signature industry in Kentucky, and we need to educate people about how much the industry means to the state and to Lexington.”
Meyocks and Phil O’Hara, a former racetrack executive, are partners in Meyocks and O’Hara Racing Enterprises, which was formed to look for strategic acquisitions and provide advisory services to the horse racing industry. He resides in Lexington.