Legislative committee approves statewide referendum on horse racing

ATLANTA — A constitutional amendment asking Georgia voters whether to legalize pari-mutuel betting on horse racing has cleared a state Senate committee.

But some lawmakers worried the horse racing industry could be set up for failure in the Peach State if racetracks are limited to live or simulcast horse racing.

The constitutional amendment would prohibit casinos from setting up slot machines and table games at racetracks. Other tracks around the nation have come to rely on income from casino operations for a major portion of their businesses.

“I’m very fearful they would not generate enough income without the other forms of gambling,” Sen. Bill Cowsert, R-Athens, chairman of the Senate Regulated Industries and Utilities Committee, said.

An “enabling” bill accompanying the constitutional amendment calls for the construction of up to five horse racing tracks in Georgia, to be overseen by a five-member state commission whose members would be appointed by the governor.

Applicants for licenses to operate a racetrack would pay a $500,000 non-refundable fee and a $250,000 renewal fee each year.

If Georgia voters approve horse racing in a statewide referendum, local city councils or county commissions would have to vote by ordinance to allow a racetrack to be built in their community.

A portion of the revenue generated by racetracks would go to education, health care and rural economic development.

Bringing horse racing to Georgia — including the breeding and racing of thoroughbreds — would generate $1.28 billion in annual economic impact and create 15,800 jobs in its first decade, according to a recent study by Georgia Southern University.

“This is a huge industry that’s already here but not at the level it could be,” Sen. Billy Hickman, R-Statesboro, told members of the committee. Unlike Georgia’s heavily subsidized film industry, horse racing would not involve taxpayer-funded incentives to attract interest, he said.

But Mike Griffin, public affairs director for the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, said racetracks wouldn’t be able to stick with horse racing and turn a profit without adding casinos.

“Forty tracks have closed since 2000,” he said. “[They] can’t make it without machines.”

Cowsert said Senate leadership will not support horse racing without making sure the constitutional amendment prohibits tracks from adding casinos.

The committee is expected to vote Thursday on the underlying enabling bill specifying how the horse racing industry would operate in Georgia.

Greg Pease, Pimlico Race Track, Baltimore, Md., via Georgia Recorder