KEEP Comment on Governor Beshear’s Plan to Resume Horse Racing in Kentucky

KEEP applauds the Governor’s announcement today that the timeline for restarting horse racing will begin May 11. The Churchill Downs backside will reopen and horses will be allowed to return to the track.

As the economic advocate for Kentucky’s horse industry, KEEP has been supportive of resuming horse racing, but only in a way that will provide safety and health protections for track employees, jockeys, trainers and their staff and the other important individuals that make horse racing possible. The industry’s plan does that and KEEP looks forward to assisting the Governor and the industry in bringing the industry back to full speed.

The resumption of horse racing is a very important step in ensuring Kentucky’s signature industry is not harmed further by the COVID-19 pandemic. The horse industry provides nearly 80,000 jobs and has a $3.4 billion economic impact on the state. Minimizing the negative effects of the pandemic on the industry will be an important piece of the Commonwealth’s overall economic recovery.