Director, Commonwealth Policy Center

Churchill Downs and Keeneland announced a new gambling venture to bring a new racetrack to Christian County in western Kentucky. They're proposing a $125 million facility in Oak Grove that will include an outdoor amphitheater, a hotel, an equestrian center and a casino which, by the way, they're calling a historical racing facility. The only thing holding this up is a license from the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. There's a lot of hype over the announcement and a lot of promise to the community in new development and tourism. But what about the downside? We have short memories and forget that the reason casinos were once outlawed is because of the human cost involved. Casino gambling undermines healthy economic growth that create win-win situations, instead of win-lose situations which becomes a drain on any community.