(Lexington, KY.) As reported on www.Courier-Journal.com, the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission approved a Churchill Downs Inc. request yesterday to allow carryover jackpots to be transferred between the company’s tracks in different states this fall in an attempt to create higher payouts. The ruling applies to the Super High 5 wager and could be a HUGE WIN for Churchill and should relate well to the regular slot players at the casinos.  

Just last weekend at Orleans Casino in Nevada, a woman hit the jackpot on a slot machine for over $1 million. A life changing jackpot of this type would never be possible if it weren’t for the concept of progressive jackpots on slot machines. A progressive jackpot is a group of many slot machines linked together by a network where a jackpot is made by taking a percentage of all the money played into each machine resulting in the jackpot growing as more people play the machine until somebody hits the winning symbols to claim it.

What does a progressive jackpot have to do with Churchill Downs’ ability to transfer jackpots? It is relavant because the casino industry has been doing it for a long time and the “slot enthusiasts” can already relate to the possibility of hitting a “life changing” jackpot. Currently, there are huge payouts everyday at horsetracks. They usually come in the form of a Pick 6 or another exotic wager. You will never hit a life changing payout by betting a horse across the board, in an exacta or even a trifecta. So, the rulling by the Racing Commission allows the track to carryover the Super High 5 wager pool, a daily wager in which the bettor must correctly match the first 5 finishers in order. Currently, if noone mathces the order, the pool carries over into the next days Super High 5 wager. Now, if noone wins the jackpot at Churchill Downs Racetrack in Louisville, Kentucky, the pool will carry over to Calder Race Course in Florida. The same will happen if no one hits the wager from Calder, it will be carried over to Churchill.

Under the proposal, Calder Race Course, located near Miami, will offer the Super High 5 earlier in the day — with any carryover going into the Churchill Super High 5 later that day. Any carryover from Churchill would go into the next Calder Super High 5.

“It will help build carryovers more quickly and get more interest,” Churchill track General Manager Jim Gates said, than if the bet carried over day-to-day at one track. Gates also commented that a similar effort could take place in the spring with three Super High 5′s each day involving Churchill, Calder and Arlington Park, Churchill’s suburban Chicago track. Gates said the carryover transfer has been approved in Florida and Illinois.

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(As reported in The Herald-Leader)-Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear created a task force Thursday to study the future of horse racing, charging its members with making recommendations to give Kentucky horse racing a â€more sound financial future.“ A news release announcing the Governor’s Task Force on the Future of Horse Racing does not mention casino gambling, but many of its members have advocated for casinos at race tracks.

â€I gave them a broad charge of looking at the health and the future of horse racing in Kentucky,“ Beshear said in an interview. â€If they choose to look at expanded gaming, they can.“

In an executive order, Beshear told the task force to study the economic soundness of the industry, the effectiveness and quality of drug testing, the proper role of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission and the adequacy of state laws and regulations.

Bob Beck, a member of the new task force and chair of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, said the task force’s mission is multi-pronged and financial stability was the final item the task force was charged with examining.

â€It was almost an after-thought,“ Beck said of the funding issue. Beck said the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission needs to identify some type of long-term funding source because the commission is currently understaffed and underfunded.

Tracy Farmer, a long-time proponent of expanded gambling and chairman of the task force, said the group will likely not duplicate work already being done by various subcommittees of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, which is also looking at issues facing the industry including drug use and licensing fees.

â€The committees of the racing commission are doing an excellent job,“ Farmer said. â€We will likely talk to them and talk to everyone in the horse industry and then we’ll try to come to some conclusions and make recommendations.

Senate President David L. Williams, R-Burkesville, who opposes the expansion of gambling, said he is looking forward to seeing the task force’s findings â€although I am concerned that some of the members have taken public positions in support of the expansion of gambling in Kentucky.“

By Beth Musgrave
bmusgrave@herald-leader.com