Kentucky Appeals Court vacates 2010 ruling allowing racetracks to conduct Instant Racing

By Ray Paulick
The Paulick Report
 

Kentucky’s Court of Appeals, in a 2-to-1 decision, has vacated and remanded a December 2010 Franklin Circuit Court decision permitting Kentucky racetracks to conduct wagering on historical races, also known as Instant Racing. The machines were originally created for Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., and are considered a parimutuel alternative to VLTs or slot machines in states that have not authorized expanded gambling.
 

The decision was rendered today by Judges Joseph E. Lambert and Janet L. Stumbo, who found that the lower court erred in not permitting the Family Foundation, which opposed Instant Racing, discovery during the trial to explore how the payoffs for Instant Racing were computed.
 

“We agree that the parties had a right to develop proof and to present evidence to establish that the wagers made by patrons at electronic gaming machines do or do not meet the definition of pari-mutuel wagering on a horse race,” the majority opinion states. “These are complex questions, and the parties are entitled to ample discovery in an effort to present the evidence. We conclude that the request for discovery by Family Foundation was relevant and necessary to the court’s determination and that the court’s denial of discovery constituted an abuse of discretion.
 

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Photo by Nicolas Toper, used through the creative commons.