Kentucky
Why Horse Racing is Dying in California and What It Means for Kentucky
In the 20th century, horse racing was “the sport of kings.” It was one of the three most popular sports in America, along with baseball and boxing. That’s far from the case a quarter of the way through the 21st century. Now its geographic footprint is in danger of drastically shrinking, threatening the future of the sport.
Prognosticators estimate the sport will not regularly operate in California and Florida within the next decade. The Los Angeles Times drafted a lengthy, detailed feature highlighting horse racing’s expiration date in California. If you care about horse racing, block of 15 minutes and read it now.
Even if you don’t care, California and Florida’s struggles matter to Kentucky. Think of horse racing as a stool. New York, Kentucky, Florida, and California are the four legs propping it up. What happens when two of those legs break?
Allow me to share a brief synopsis of the L.A. Times reporting, along with some personal anecdotal evidence.
[READ: Inside California Horse Racing’s Complex Problems That Could Hurt the Sport Nationwide]
1. There is No Monopoly on Sports Gambling
Do you know why horse racing was so popular for so long? The parimutuel windows were the only way you could legally make a sports wager. Admission to the track was $2 when I started attending Churchill Downs because they wanted you to save all of your money for gambling. Wagering still matters, but the Instagram experience has been priortized above all else.
Meanwhile, you can wager on an NBA player’s assists right from your phone, unless you’re in California. The state does not have sports gambling or historical horse racing slot machines to prop up the horse racing industry.
2. Horse Racing Often Doesn’t Financially Make Sense
A Maiden Special is your most basic, introductory type of race. These are horses all looking for their first win. A Maiden Special at Santa Anita Park in California has a purse of $60,000. At Churchill Downs, the purse is $120,000.
How can one expect horsemen to survive the California standard of living? The math isn’t mathing.
3. No Political Appetite for Horse Racing
Kentucky is able to race with larger purses because of the historical horse racing slot machines, sports gaming, and most importantly, the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund (KTDF). Thanks to the efforts of politicians like Damon Thayer, legislation has been put in place to secure the sport’s financial future in Kentucky.
Politicians in California only speak up about horse racing to highlight the sport’s darkest days. The rash of fatalities in 2019 called for investigations into the conditions of the track and practices used at Santa Anita Park. That turned public sentiment against horse racing in the state and it may never recover.
4. The Stronach Group
The Stronach Group operates under the title 1/ST. They own multiple racetracks, most notably Santa Anita Park and Gulfstream Park. They previously owned Pimlico, but turned that over to the state of Maryland last summer.
Gulfstream and Santa Anita are two of the five most important horse racing tracks in the country. The land they sit on is worth more than its horse racing enterprise. According to the LA Times, they’re shopping both tracks for sale. Belinda Stronach made that abundantly clear when she said during the Pegasus World Cup broadcast on NBC, “The fact is that Gulfstream Park is now in a very dense, urban setting, and that’s not great for horses, ultimately.”
Churchill Downs is in a pretty dense, urban setting, and the horses there seem to be doing just fine.
What Does This All Mean?
The horse racing industry is big business for the state of Kentucky. According to the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association, the equine industry generates roughly $6.5 billion in total economic impact, supports over 60,000 jobs, and brings in over $100 million in tax revenue for the state. Kentucky Derby week generates upwards of $217 million for the local economy.
That is not in danger of going away, however, if Florida and California get out of the business, we will feel it in Kentucky. If you care about the business, do yourself a favor and take some time to read the detailed feature from the L.A. Times.
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GRAYSON, Ky. (WSAZ) – New information has been released in the search for a missing woman at Grayson Lake.
According to game wardens with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, Marly Kinney, 19, of Ashland, was last seen at Grayson Lake on Wednesday afternoon.
They say search efforts are focused on the water at this time and include Kentucky State Police aerial support, drones, boats, and K9 assistance.
Crews suspend search for missing teen for the night
The search is now into its third day, with officials saying on and off rain has hindered their search and that a group of 50 volunteers are walking the banks of the lake to help in the search.
Search and rescue boats have been seen at the lake as well.
Officials say there are still many questions, including if Kinney is still alive and where exactly she went missing.
They also say they’ve been using a variety of equipment, including sonar and thermal detectors, as well as helicopters and underwater drones.
WSAZ received a statement from Kinney’s family Friday afternoon:
“We are very appreciative of the absolute surplus of support from law enforcement, search and rescue, 1st responders, and all of the community and its volunteers that are here with us and for us searching for Marly. We do not even know how to express our absolute gratitude to you all. We continue to have faith she will be found and brought back to us. We know we have the very best people doing all they can to bring her home.”
Anyone with information is asked to call 911.
We are still working to get more information.
Previous coverage can be found here.
Copyright 2026 WSAZ. All rights reserved.
13 things more likely to happen than winning the Powerball jackpot
Hoping to win the Powerball jackpot? Here are 13 things more likely to happen than becoming an instant millionaire.
The Kentucky Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at Thursday, June 25, 2026 winning numbers for each game.
Cash Ball
02-08-24-32, Cash Ball: 09
Check Cash Ball payouts and previous drawings here.
Pick 3
Evening: 6-3-0
Midday: 9-6-0
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Pick 4
Evening: 5-7-6-0
Midday: 5-2-6-6
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Millionaire for Life
03-13-14-34-45, Bonus: 01
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Courier Journal digital producer. You can send feedback using this form.
On Thursday, Kentucky’s home and away SEC opponents for the 2026-27 season were revealed and on top of learning the three opponents who they will play twice, there are some very intriguing matchups. In conference play, Kentucky will face six teams who are among the top 25 in many preseason rankings.
In SEC play, Kentucky will play Tennessee, Vandy and Ole Miss all both home and away. The home matchups include Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, LSU, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas A&M and Vandy. As for the road tilts, the Wildcats will face Florida, Georgia, Mississippi State, Missouri, Ole Miss, Oklahoma, Texas, Tennessee and Vandy. Let’s take a look at some interesting developments from the schedule release.
John Calipari returns to Rupp Arena (again)
In Calipari’s first year with Arkansas, he got the best of Kentucky when he came into Rupp Arena and left with a 10-point victory, a game where you could really feel the tension all game long in the building from Kentucky fans, which translated onto the court with the players. Last season, it was Kentucky who shocked everyone when they stole one on the road against a top 20 Arkansas team after a rough up-and-down season up to that point. Now, the two will face off again as Kentucky will look to get the win in Rupp and make sure Calipari doesn’t get two in a row in the building. It’ll be another highly-anticipated showdown.
Kentucky hits the road at Texas
This is shaping up to be a major challenge for Kentucky next season and may even end up being one of the biggest games of the season. Texas is seen by many as a clear top 10 team, with some even having them within the top five and when you combine that with the fact that the game is on the road, the Wildcats will have their hands full. The Wildcats fell to the longhorns in the 2024-25 season, and it’ll be a much stiffer challenge this time.
Which game could be a trap?
We don’t have the game-by-game dates yet, so it’s hard to say with a lot of confidence, but opponent-wise, Georgia could really give Kentucky fits. In Pope’s first year, his team struggled handling the physicality of the Bulldogs and now, they’ve retained one of their best guards for another year and have added physicality through the portal. Mike White’s teams love to make opponents uncomfortable and they could do that once again down in Athens. Another sneaky team to watch is Oklahoma, who will have very good guard play. Kentucky will face both teams on the road.
Overall, it’s a pretty fair SEC schedule for a Kentucky team who has the capability of a return to being atop the conference once again. Mark Pope has such a system-fit squad and he can do some damage in the SEC.
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