Kentucky pol advises on casinos

The Speaker Pro Tem of the Kentucky House of Represen-tatives warned lawmakers at a hearing Wednesday that any bill to legalize casino gambling at Kentucky's racetracks would fail to pass the House if the legislation included specific revenue splits for the state and racing industry, according to the Associated Press.

The speaker, Rep. Larry Clark, told the House Licensing and Occupations Committee that the legislation would need to be "short and sweet" and allow the legislature to determine where revenue from the casinos would go, according to the AP.

The hearing was the first to address the casino-gambling bills. Last week, legislators filed bills in the House and Senate calling for a referendum on the legalization of casino gambling. The House bill calls for casino gambling to be legalized at eight Kentucky racetracks. The Senate version calls for nine casino locations at five racetracks and four stand-alone sites.

The bills both include language that allocates 64 percent of the revenue to the Standardbred and Thoroughbred racing industries. The state would retain 35 percent, with another 1 percent going to other horse breeds.