$6.8 billion wagered on historical horse racing for fiscal year 2022 in Kentucky

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Historical horse racing is the most wagered on type of horse betting in Kentucky.

The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, also known as KHRC, presented wagering totals and horse betting data before Kentucky lawmakers Wednesday.

The commission showed $6.8 billion was wagered on historical horse racing, HHR, for fiscal year 2022. This is the highest amount followed by advance-deposit wagering, ADW, typically known as betting on a smart phone, had a total of $387 million, then simulcast at $100 million and live track bets at $95 million.

Prior to August of this year, each type of betting was taxed at a different rate, now with the passage of House Bill 607 all pari-mutuel taxes are levied at 1.5%.

Tax revenues are dispersed to various different funds including the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund, Kentucky Standardbred Development Fund, equine industry programs, as well as to the state's general fund.

The KHRC said HHR is also the highest contributor of all types of betting tax receipts.

Chauncey Morris is the executive director for Kentucky Thoroughbred Association and said the billions spent on wagering is a good thing for the overall industry.

"Historical horse racing has been transformational for Kentucky racing," Morris said.

He said the additional funds from HHR equate to bigger purses from Kentucky Development Fund for horses bred in Kentucky that win on Kentucky racetracks.

"It means that they can stick around here longer," Morris said. "Racing is always generally been characterized as a bit of a journeyman exercise. So you go where the money is."

That means a bigger incentive to breed and race in Kentucky.

Thomas Lambert, a professor at the University of Louisville, teaches and researches HHR's economic impact.

"It's more than just the spending directly on the establishment, there are spin off effects," he said.

Lambert estimates if there's more than 6 billion spent wagering on HHR, there's likely a net economic impact of about $9 billion dollars — and he said that's a conservative estimate.

Lambert and Morris predict that future growth will not be linear.

"We are at the beginning of historical horse racing," Morris said. "What it means for horse racing, we're very optimistic and bullish that it's going to be positive for that."

The Family Foundation typically testifies in Frankfort against any gambling expansion. It said it didn't take a stance on House Bill 607, but released the following statement:

“The expansion of government-sponsored gambling continues to be a troubling development, especially in a time of rising inflation, high gas prices, and other costs that are making family budgets tighter than ever. This will only further impoverish Kentuckians by taking money from the hands of Kentucky families and shifting it to the wealthy gambling industry. We remain committed to ensuring that Kentucky families are put first in the policies of our Commonwealth,” David Walls, executive director of The Family Foundation said.