Officials of Slidell, Louisiana are opposing the placement of historical horse racing (HHR) machines at an off-track betting facility in the city, although HHR machines were approved for OTB locations by the state.
St. Tammany Parish, where Slidell is located, voted more than a year ago against a $325 million casino proposal. The state legislature approved HHRs in 2021. However, city officials claim that HHR machines—which present results of past horse races in a slot-like format—circumvent that vote.
“We don’t want historical horse racing in the city limits,” Slidell Mayor Greg Cromer told the news site NOLA.com. “It looks like it’s nothing more than a glorified slot machine. You push in the money and push the button. That’s how it looks to the mayor. The (Louisiana) Racing Commission may argue it’s different.”
However, the fact the games were authorized by the state may mean Slidell officials cannot prevent their placement—in this case at an OTB owned by Kentucky’s Churchill Downs.
Cromer told the news site the city isn’t fighting the OTB itself. “I don’t think we have a leg to stand on,” he said of off-track betting. “But with historical horse racing, I think we do.”
