In a joint letter to Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt and U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, the Thoroughbred Racing Association of Oklahoma and Oklahoma Quarter Horseracing Association expressed strong opposition to a tribal gaming compact allowing the Kialegee Tribal Town to build a casino that could financially threaten the Remington Park racino in Oklahoma City.
The two associations wrote, “The horseracing industry will not sit idly by and allow such actions to negatively impact the progress made since the passage of the 712 Compact.” That’s a reference to State Question 712, approved by Oklahoma voters in 2004, which established a model gaming compact that tribes have followed for establishing and operating casinos in the state. It also allowed racetracks to install electronic gaming machines, which provided a “life-saving boost to the horse industry in Oklahoma,” the associations wrote.
However, they added, “We remain gravely concerned regarding the financial impact that another gaming facility in the Oklahoma County area will have on the horseracing industry in Oklahoma. The authorization of an additional gaming facility in Oklahoma County will threaten economic ability of the Oklahoma horse industry to succeed in long-term.”
According to Stitt’s gaming compact with the Kialegee Tribal Town, the tribe would be allowed to construct a casino in eastern Oklahoma County within a mile of a state or federal highway.
