“A racehorse is an animal that can take several thousand people for a ride at the same time.”

Anybody that has ever attended horse races anywhere, can honestly say that they have seen and heard the roar of the crowd when the thoroughbreds come down to the wire to determine the victor. Some may have pocket change on the races, whereas other individuals could be risking much more cash on a horse to win, place and/or show.

Horse racing  is just one of the many types of gambling that occur in Nebraska for the time being. Lottery tickets, Keno, Poker games and/or Bingo are played and available throughout the state. All of this is legalized gambling for people of legal age.

Recently, there have been reported violations of private businesses having slot machines, this is against the law in the state of Nebraska. But, if you travel less than a mile into two of the four surrounding states of Nebraska you can legally play slot machines, explain that one for me?

When a person arrives at the casino’s in South Dakota or in Iowa, how many of the vehicles have Nebraska license plates? Every instance that I have traveled to a casino, there is always a majority of Nebraskan’s present.  Why not try to keep some of the money within the Cornhusker state?

If we as Nebraskan’s are able to legally gamble playing keno, betting on horse races, and/or playing poker, why no slot machines?

Several individuals and groups have attempted to keep the gamblers happy in Nebraska by passing legislation to legalize gambling machines, to no avail. One of the latest attempts that really made a ton of sense, is putting the gambling machines in the horse tracks to house two gambling economies together, and also they can support each other and cut the costs of having two different staffs and buildings to maintain. On paper, it seems like a no-brainer.

The typical horse racing facility in Nebraska has plenty of room for expansion, and what else would profit more than between races, (the time period is usually in the range of 20 minutes) pump a few coins into a slot machine? I am guessing that it would not kill the alcohol sales and/or concessions stand sales. 

With the popularity of Poker and Blackjack, there would sure be room to house the tournaments that accompany the card games. As a whole it all makes sense, or is that the problem, it makes sense?

In a struggling economy, it only makes sense to unite forces. I would be willing to bet that if given the chance, the two industries together, horse racing and casino action would prosper, other states do it, so why can’t we as Nebraskans? Why can't Nebraska do anything and everything to help out the sport of horse racing, before we lose it?

If you have an opinion on what you have read, you should sign up for a free account and post your comments. I would love to know if I am the only one with the thoughts that would place casino's and horse racing parks together to be successful. Make your voice be heard........

Question of the week: What is the name of the racing horse that has won the most amount of money in career earnings and how much money has the horse earned?