By Tony McVeigh, Kentucky Public RadioIt looks like the end of the line for an instant racing bill in the 2010 Kentucky General Assembly.Georgetown Sen. Damon Thayer says he just doesn’t have the kind of support he needs to pass instant racing this session. The measure won committee approval two weeks ago, but was sent back for major surgery, and Thayer says the votes to move it again aren’t there.“I have worked on this as hard as I have worked on anything in seven years. And I feel like Sisyphus pushing that rock up the hill and everytime I get to the top, it just rolls right back down on me,”he said.With five days left in the session, Thayer’s not declaring the bill dead, but says he won’t be actively working it. The measure would have allowed bettors at horse tracks use electronic machines to wager on thousands of randomly-selected, previously-run races. A small percentage of the proceeds would have benefited the state’s struggling horse industry.
Rick Howlett was midday host and the host of LPM's weekly talk show, "In Conversation." He was with LPM from 2001-2023 and held many different titles, including Morning Edition host, Assignment Editor and Interim News Director. He died in August 2023. Read a remembrance of Rick here.
