Horse Racing

Lexington, KY - Until only recently, Keeneland has held the issue of expanded gaming at arm's length, its officials readily expressing concern about the increasingly perilous state of the horse racing industry, but refraining to take a public position in favor of gaming as one solution.

Then came the recession and with it, a tipping point. In an interview with Tom Martin, Keeneland president Nick Nicholson cited a litany of threats to the industry, ranging from the bankruptcy of key tracks and declining trends in attendance to a shortage of Thoroughbreds. But none, he said, compare with the peril posed by increasingly aggressive competition from states enhancing racetrack purses with revenues generated by expanded gaming.