If Magna, which now owns eight racetracks around the country, does build a track in Missouri, it must offer at least 50 days of live racing. Pari-mutuel wagering was legalized in the state in the early 1980s, but a track was never built.Rep. Matt Boatright told the Post-Dispatch "horse racing itself won't work. We're going to have to have the other forms of gaming to make it viable."
With only one vote to spare, legislation to permit year-round simulcasting passed the Missouri House Wednesday and was sent to the Senate. The bill is key to a plan by Magna Entertainment to build a racetrack in the state.The bill passed the House on an 83-69 vote. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that the minimum number of votes needed for a bill to pass the House is 82.The Senate approved simulcasting legislation two years ago, though the measure limited simulcasting to days when a track raced live. Under that scenario, the facility wouldn't be profitable, officials said.