It goes into the category of it's a shock but not a surprise. In the wake of the defeat of the slots at racetracks bill, long time Churchill Downs based trainer Dale Romans tells me he will move half of his training and racing operation (about 150 horses) to New York.
Romans literally grew up on the Churchill Downs backside, the son of the late trainer, Jerry Romans. He and his wife, Tammy Fox, have two teenage children.

Kentucky Horsemen's Association President Rick Hiles estimates that ten to fifteen "big trainers" at Churchill will make similar moves out of Kentucky.

What some observors might not understand is that the racing operations of all Kentucky racetracks are intertwined. The staggered race meets at Ellis Park in Henderson and Turfway Park in Northern Kentucky help make a Kentucky-based racing operation possible. Trainers like being able to make a home in Louisville and work the Ky circuit from here. Plus, simulcast betting on Churchill races at other tracks supplements the Churchill Downs purses.

There are, no doubt, consequences either way on the vote to expand gambling in Kentucky. We will soon begin to see the consequences of voting no.

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