The thoroughbred racing industry has not gotten much traction in Georgia because of the anti-gambling faction or, in other words, the ubiquitous church lobby. Never mind that Georgia introduced the lottery in 1993; horse racing is seen as more sinful than a scratch-off sport. So, a nation with great weather for a race tune has been, how do you say, stalled. The political climate can be changing inside the Bible Belt.
The Bible thumpers are a bit hard on this. However, they may be growing older, and their kids aren’t thumping quite so closely,” said Dr. Susan Harding, a widespread practitioner in south Georgia who owns 21 thoroughbreds. “Yes, this country wishes horse racing.” Brandon Beach (R-Alpharetta) is sponsoring a pari-mutuel bill from the Economic Development and Tourism Committee to the Rules Committee.
That has never happened before,” Beach said. All he had to do was say the magic word. Jobs. The regulation Beach is sponsoring is known as the “Rural Georgia Jobs and Growth Act.” It is a veteran pass using a veteran pol because when voters see it on the ballot as a constitutional amendment, they will assume jobs, now not horses. “I’m seeking to create an equine enterprise here,” Beach said. “We’ve got the precise weather for a two-month (racing) agenda. It’s too hot in Florida and too cold in Kentucky and New York.
Horse racing is a perfect element, but I want to develop horse farms, hay farms, breeding, and auctions. “The real money is within the breeding and auctions. However, you couldn’t have the breeding without the pony racing element. We need to build a Keeneland-type world-magnificence facility to get a Breeders Cup. For every horse in Georgia, they tell me it’s 20 jobs.” Harding has skilled horses, and they said she sends them to tracks within the Midwest and Northeast. She cannot accompany the horses while she keeps her clinical practice with an
eighty-hour workweek. She said trainers lollygag along with her horses and do not get them in sufficient races. “They go to remote tracks, and you never get to look them,” Harding stated. “The instructor sits on them for six weeks, and they pass directly downhill. Knock them out of the gates, get them a gate card, and race. When I send a horse to the tune, they’re ready to race.” The pari-mutuel invoice—again, the “Rural Georgia Jobs and Growth Act”—is connected to a constitutional amendment to be voted on in November.
Casinos must be part of the equation because maintaining a thoroughbred song is highly-priced. Gov. Brian Kemp has dropped his competition to an invoice sponsoring casinos in Georgia. If the rules for horse racing and casinos are authorized, the nation must make sure the horse riders are cut into the online casino’s haul of coins. The nation of Georgia will call for at least 25% of gross sales for taxes from the casinos, and the legislature wishes to apply some of the one’s funds to the maintenance of a track. “It’s not cheap jogging music,” Dr. Harding
said. “You want to get all the gambling in that you can, and that’s where the online casino comes in.” There is some other difficulty. It has become commonplace for a “tune” to open in Florida, but it’s far from anything extra than a starter maintaining a purple it’s dropped earlier than two jogging jogs 30 yards on a dirt route. It’s a horse race that satisfies the national law that permits a casino to operate 50 yards away. Georgia has to keep away from that sham of “Racino.”
