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| Indianapolis Star July 8, 2006 The Push for Pull-Tabs Gains a Litlle Momentum By Michael Pointer Developments at the ballot box during the past two years have pull-tab machine proponents feeling a bit more optimistic than usual. In 2004, state Sen. Lawrence M. Borst, R-Greenwood, was defeated in the primary. This year, Sen. Robert Garton, R-Columbus, was handed a primary loss. Both men opposed the racing industry's attempts to add pull-tab machines to the state's tracks -- and could do something about it. Borst was the powerful head of the Senate Finance Committee. Garton is winding down a 26-year tenure as Senate President Pro Tempore and will leave the legislature in January. "I think it definitely changes the dynamics,'' said Dwayne Ruhle, a horse owner and trainer from Pendleton and vice president of the Indiana Standardbred Association. Ruhle is hopeful the Republican-controlled Senate now will at least be given a chance to vote on pull-tab legislation. But Jerry Walker, a horseman who has lobbied state officials, said another change probably needs to take place during the November elections. "I think we have a whole lot better chance if we get a Democratic-controlled (House),'' said Walker, a longtime thoroughbred owner and former head of the Indiana Horse Racing and Breeding Coalition. A Democratic-controlled house passed pull-tab legislation in 2004. But Garton assigned it to a rules committee in the Senate, guaranteeing it wouldn't get a full hearing. Republicans regained control of the House in November's election that year, and pull-tab legislation hasn't come close to passing since. Even if it were to, there is no guarantee it would become law. Gov. Mitch Daniels has been non-committal on the subject. "He's generally opposed to an expansion of gambling,'' said Jane Jankowski, Daniels' spokesperson. "But he's very supportive of the horse industry and what it brings to Indiana.'' Borst, a longtime standardbred owner who was instrumental in getting parimutuel wagering legislation passed in the early 1990s, said the continued presence of a lucrative subsidy the racing industry already receives from riverboat admissions showed why he fought efforts for pull-tabs. "I don't know of anything else in the state except for maybe public schools that are subsidized by $28 million dollars," Borst said. "People keep saying (the industry) is going down, but how much do you need?"  |
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