Off to the Races
April 20, 2011 - by
Governor Perdue & Staff are wrapped up in an unnecessary kerfluffle over where she was Saturday when deadly tornados struck North Carolina. It turns out she was in Kentucky, maybe – or maybe not – at a horse race.
Which led one TAPster to look past the political flap to the economic possibilities of thundering horse hooves:
“It’s a shame that Governor Perdue had to travel to Kentucky to see a horse race over the weekend. We don’t know the details, but she was probably at Keeneland, a wonderful thoroughbred racing facility that is better, but less well-known, than Churchill Downs.
“If the Governor really wants to stimulate economic development and job creation, she will steal the blueprints for Keeneland and create a public-private partnership to build a replica in North Carolina. Plenty of economic studies have shown that North Carolina has a substantial ‘shadow’ equine industry, with significant training, research and medical care in the Sandhills area, where race horses worth millions hang out on trips between New York and Florida. It would be a natural expansion of the industry to build a first-class thoroughbred track that would employ hundreds of workers, create tax growth and grab some out-of-state tourist dollars. Build it in Robeson County and transform the poorest economy in the state.
“It’s a no-brainer.
“Unfortunately, the economics of big-time thoroughbred racing don’t work without pari-mutuel betting.
“So, never mind. As brilliant as it is, you can forget this idea in North Carolina, where the political leadership is terrified of gambling of any kind and the holy rollers in the right wing of the GOP, in particular, will never let their leaders open the door to the evils of state-run gambling. They’ll complain as soon as they return from buying a ticket for the state-run lottery and a pint of whiskey at the state-run liquor store.”
Off to the Races
April 20, 2011/
Governor Perdue & Staff are wrapped up in an unnecessary kerfluffle over where she was Saturday when deadly tornados struck North Carolina. It turns out she was in Kentucky, maybe – or maybe not – at a horse race.
Which led one TAPster to look past the political flap to the economic possibilities of thundering horse hooves:
“It’s a shame that Governor Perdue had to travel to Kentucky to see a horse race over the weekend. We don’t know the details, but she was probably at Keeneland, a wonderful thoroughbred racing facility that is better, but less well-known, than Churchill Downs.
“If the Governor really wants to stimulate economic development and job creation, she will steal the blueprints for Keeneland and create a public-private partnership to build a replica in North Carolina. Plenty of economic studies have shown that North Carolina has a substantial ‘shadow’ equine industry, with significant training, research and medical care in the Sandhills area, where race horses worth millions hang out on trips between New York and Florida. It would be a natural expansion of the industry to build a first-class thoroughbred track that would employ hundreds of workers, create tax growth and grab some out-of-state tourist dollars. Build it in Robeson County and transform the poorest economy in the state.
“It’s a no-brainer.
“Unfortunately, the economics of big-time thoroughbred racing don’t work without pari-mutuel betting.
“So, never mind. As brilliant as it is, you can forget this idea in North Carolina, where the political leadership is terrified of gambling of any kind and the holy rollers in the right wing of the GOP, in particular, will never let their leaders open the door to the evils of state-run gambling. They’ll complain as soon as they return from buying a ticket for the state-run lottery and a pint of whiskey at the state-run liquor store.”