The Kentucky Racing Association Course at Lexington, circa 1920. Photo by R.L. McClure. Donated by the Miami University Libraries. KHS Collections.
The Kentucky Racing Commission was created by an act, approved March 23, 1906, “to regulate the racing of running horses in the Commonwealth.” The Racing Commission soon outlawed the practice of bookmaking and replaced it with pari-mutuel wagering. By the 1920s only three states still had legal betting at racetracks, and reformers in Kentucky attempted to outlaw pari-mutuel betting. Such a bill easily passed the House in 1924 but failed in the Senate by a split party vote of 14-24.
The Kentucky Racing Association Course at Lexington, circa 1920. Photo by R.L. McClure. Donated by the Miami University Libraries. KHS Collections.
