The TRA and KEEP have weighed in on the announced closure of Ellis Park in western Kentucky. They blame lack of a long-term, industry strategy on advance deposit wagering, and inability to compete with other states, respectively.
At its June board meeting, the Kentucky Equine Education Project elected three new board members: Dr. Gary Knapp, Wayne Lyster III, and Andre Regard.
The Ohio horse industry has officially launched the Ohio Equine Industry Coalition, which is designed to find solutions to what it calls an "economic crisis" for the industry.
The chairman of the Kentucky Equine Education Project said the organization is "disappointed" not only in the failure of legislation calling for a constitutional amendment on casino gambling, but also with the way the measure was handled from the beginning of this year's General Assembly session.
After a Kentucky constitutional amendment calling for nine casino licenses passed out of committee Feb. 27, it was unclear whether the horse industry would continue to support the legislation. But indications lawmakers and Gov. Steve Beshear would look out for the industry led the Kentucky Equine Education Project to support the bill.
A Kentucky casino proposal continues to sit on Capitol Hill in Frankfort, as a bill for a constitutional amendment failed to pass out of committee Feb. 26.
In an attempt to recruit people to support the proposed constitutional amendment for expanded gaming, the Kentucky Equine Education Project urged its members to attend a Feb. 26 committee meeting hearing for the bill, as well as a horse trailer caravan "rally" the same day in Frankfort.
A legislative subcommittee studying expanded gambling in Kentucky has recommended a revised constitutional amendment that reduces the number of casinos permitted in the state to nine, requires local approval of some sort for all casinos, and removes dedicated percentages for gaming revenue.
To continue dialogue on why Kentucky needs expanded gaming, and to further educate the General Assembly on the matter, Kentucky Equine Education Project executive director Patrick Neely recently gave a presentation during a special legislative subcommittee meeting in Frankfort, the state capital.
Details on legislation to authorize casino gambling in Kentucky will have to wait for another day.
Many horse industry figures were in the spirit of giving during the Kentucky Equine Education Project's stallion season auction, billed with the tag line, "No Time to Hold Your Horses." The auction was held for the first time since 2004 to benefit causes supported by the organization.
The Ohio horse industry, in an effort to make its voice heard around the Buckeye State, has formed a coalition similar to the Kentucky Equine Education Project, a horse industry advocacy group in Kentucky.
The Kentucky Equine Education Project will hold a stallion season auction Dec. 7 to raise funds to support promotion of the horse industry as well as legislative endeavors in 2008 and beyond.
The Kentucky Equine Education Project will hold a stallion season auction Dec. 7 to raise funds to support promotion of the horse industry as well as legislative endeavors.
Kentucky legislators said tax relief for the horse industry and dedicated funding for the Kentucky Horse Racing Authority will be prominent issues when the state General Assembly convenes in 2008.
While the Kentucky Equine Education Project continues to lobby for legislation that would remove the sales tax on equine feed and supplies in Kentucky, a decision is pending in regard to whether the organization will again push for casino gambling at racetracks in 2008.
The officers and board of directors of Thoroughbred Charities of America have selected Bill Casner as recipient of the TCA Charity Leadership Award to be presented at the 18th annual TCA Stallion Season and Art Auction Nov. 30 at Keeneland.
Trainer Monty Roberts will be the guest speaker at a reception to introduce this year's recipients of scholarships from The Race for Education, the Kentucky Equine Education Program, and the Kentucky Horse Council. The reception will be held at 6:30 p.m. July 14 at Victorian Square in Lexington.
<i>By Tom LaMarra</i> - Gaming in West Virginia and other states has kept racetracks open, put money in horsemen's pockets, and encouraged breed development. Whether it has done anything to spark long-term interest in and stability for horse racing is dubious at best.
The Kentucky Equine Education Project's board of directors announced June 25 its endorsement of the Steve Beshear-Daniel Mongiardo ticket in the 2007 Kentucky gubernatorial campaign.
<i>By Ray Paulick</i> - Racing has enough problems without a grandstanding politician using his position to wage a personal war with a state regulator.
More than $12 million will be awarded to Thoroughbred breeders through the Kentucky Breeders' Incentive Fund.
The Kentucky Equine Education Project is pushing legislation that would remove the sales tax on equine feed and supplies in the state.
Kentucky Democratic gubernatorial candidate Steve Beshear said Jan. 16 he supports a plan for casino gambling that could generate hundreds of millions in tax revenue to help fund education and road construction.
The Kentucky Equine Education Project (KEEP) announced Jan. 8 that it provided funding to 167 equine programs in 69 counties during 2006 totaling $135,682.
The Kentucky Equine Education Project has named Patrick Neely as its new executive director.
In an unprecedented move, the Kentucky League of Cities bestowed its annual "Big Hitter for Kentucky Cities" award on a pair of recipients: Rep. Rob Wilkey of Scottsville and Sen. Damon Thayer of Georgetown.
Tax relief for the horse industry, not racetrack gaming, will be the focus of the Kentucky Equine Education Project during the 2007 General Assembly session, according to the chairman of the organization.
An educational public Kentucky Equine Education Project meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. EST Sept. 21 at Piney Point Stables near Leitchfield, Ky.
Richard W. Wilcke has been named the director of the University of Louisville Equine Industry Program. Wilcke, a faculty member since 1995, succeeds Robert Lawrence, who recently retired after 18 years as head of the program.
As the investigation continued into the crash of Comair Flight 5191 in Lexington, Ky., two more individuals connected with the Thoroughbred industry have been identified as victims of the crash.
In a state that derives an important part of its identity from horses, it's surprising the number of horses that reside in Kentucky isn't known. In a collaborative effort, the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service, the University of Kentucky Equine Initiative, the Kentucky Horse Council, and the Kentucky Equine Education Project plan to change that this fall with a statewide count of Kentucky's horse population.
Jim Navolio, who played a key role in the building of the Kentucky Equine Education Project, will retire as executive director of the grassroots organization effective Sept. 1.
The Kentucky Equine Education Project (KEEP) and its public relations agency, Preston-Osborne, have been presented a Silver Anvil Award for their work to establish a breeder incentive fund.
Shaking off defeat of the casino bill in the recent legislative session, the Kentucky Equine Education Project showed a fresh outlook for the remainder of 2006 in a public meeting May 9 at the Kentucky Horse Park.
The Kentucky Equine Education Project (KEEP) board of directors has announced an annual $1,000 scholarship program for five in-state undergraduate students working toward a career in the equine industry.
Preston-Osborne has been selected as a finalist for the Public Relations Society of America's Silver Anvil Award.
A Kentucky House committee approved legislation March 15 to authorize a constitutional amendment on casino gambling, but the substitute measure--believed to have little or no chance of passage in the full House--makes no mention of racetracks or dedicated revenue for state programs, the lynchpins of legislation proposed by the Kentucky Equine Education Project.
<i>By Ray Paulick</i> - Kentucky politicians need to understand the educational and lobbying efforts undertaken by the Kentucky Equine Education Project are not a one-and-out deal. The horse industry, which for too long was nonexistent in Kentucky politics, quickly became the state's No. 1 lobbying force. And that's exactly what Kentucky's top industry should be.
Differences of opinion regarding the continuously changing bill for Kentucky casino gaming caused its consideration to be postponed Wednesday by the House Committee on Licensing and Occupations until the week of March 13.
A compromise would add three or four locations to the eight racetracks that would offer casino gambling under legislation already introduced in the Kentucky House of Representatives.
An organization representing county judge/executives throughout Kentucky has endorsed racetrack casino legislation offered by the Kentucky Equine Education Project and currently in the House Licensing and Occupations Committee.
Legislation to authorize a constitutional amendment on casino gambling at Kentucky racetracks was introduced Feb. 16 by legislators in the House of Representatives and Senate.
Two Democrats who received financial support from members of the state's horse industry were elected Feb. 14 to seats in the Kentucky Senate and House of Representatives, but officials indicated the result is just a small step on a long road to lining up supporters in the state capital.
The Kentucky Equine Education Project has given its support for legislation that would make it unlawful for anyone to represent both buyer and seller in a transaction involving horses without written permission of both parties.
The Kentucky Quarter Horse Racing Association and the Kentucky Paso Fino Horse Association have endorsed the Kentucky Equine Education Project's proposal for a constitutional amendment on racetrack casinos.
Two Kentucky lawmakers have introduced legislation that would eliminate the sales tax on horses purchased in Kentucky.
More than nine in 10 Kentucky voters (92 %) believe they should be given an opportunity to vote on a constitutional amendment allowing for casino gaming even if they are opposed to expanded gambling, according to the finding of a recent survey of 801 Kentucky voters conducted on behalf of KEEP˜the Kentucky Equine Education Project.
<i>By Ray Paulick</i> - This year's 60-day session of Kentucky's general assembly will be the first time KEEP--established in May 2004--has pushed for the "Keep It in Kentucky" constitutional amendment, so named because it is estimated that Kentuckians who crossed into Indiana and Illinois last year spent $671 million on casino gaming.
The Kentucky Equine Education Project announced Nov. 29 that it has provided funding to 147 equine programs around the state in the past 10 months. To date, $100,343 has been reinvested in Kentucky's horse economy in 67 counties.
