An advocacy group for Kentucky racing has called on lawmakers to approve sports wagering in the state and has produced a white paper suggesting that any addition of such wagering be closely tied to racing.
The Kentucky Equine Education Project's white paper on sports wagering in Kentucky said such betting should be made available at Kentucky tracks, be regulated by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, be taxed at a rate that allows the wagering to be competitive, and have a portion of revenues benefit horse racing. 
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KEEP chairman Doug Cauthen said the organization sees great opportunity for sports wagering and racing to work together.
"KEEP has worked diligently, over the past several months with member racetracks, farms, owners, and horse enthusiasts all throughout the industry, to reach a position on sports wagering that unifies the industry," Cauthen said. "Fortunately, the horse industry sees the great opportunities that exist for legalized sports wagering in Kentucky and have coalesced around this white paper." 
KEEP executive vice president Elisabeth Jensen called on lawmakers to move forward on approving sports wagering. Existing bills on sports wagering failed to progress out of committee but a bipartisan group of lawmakers plans to pre-file a bill on online, mobile, and brick and mortar sports betting before the start of next year's legislative session.
"Now it is critical that the legislature takes up the issue in an expeditious manner to prepare for January's session," Jensen said. "With sports wagering already becoming available in a number of other states, Kentucky must be at the forefront of this opportunity and not wait until neighboring states have acted and it is too late. KEEP applauds the work of the bipartisan panel of legislators currently working on this issue and we look forward to sharing the white paper with them."
"Coming to consensus on anything can be difficult in an industry with interests as disparate as ours." Jensen continued, "However, on this issue, we all see the great potential that sports wagering can bring to the state. Currently, Kentucky's horse racing industry is unparalleled in nearly every metric when compared to other states. Not only could sports wagering benefit the state financially, but it can also be done in a way that will preserve and grow the success that horse racing has seen in this state over the last decade." 
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To read the full white paper, click here.