Testimony is continuing this afternoon on SB 1011, the bill to eliminate instant racing in Idaho; here are some of those who have spoken:

Ada County Commissioner Jim Tibbs spoke against SB1011. “Historical horse racing is about the only means that has been discovered to bring some additional revenue into live horse racing,” he told the lawmakers. “It seems there’s a lot of competition with lottery and the casinos that are on the reservations.” Tibbs said Ada County owns Les Bois Park, where the gambling machines are operating. “It’s never been more stable,” he said. “The county has never had a better partner. It’s never been run as well as it’s being run today.” He said if an end to instant racing led to a cut-off of live racing at Les Bois, “That would be just a huge impact all across the valley.”

Paul Treasure, a horse trainer, owner and breeder, said he first came to Les Bois Park with his family from eastern Idaho when he was 13; his dad was a horse trainer. “This bill, if it passed, it’d be disastrous for everybody,” he said. “I couldn’t make a living again.” He said he keeps 30 head of horses, and spends about $30,000 a month on expenses for them during the summer, from feed to shavings to hay. “I’m just one guy with 30 head of horses,” he said. “There’s 750 horses live there in the summer, so if that gives you some kind of idea what we’re talking about here.”

Bill Hoburg, also a horse trainer, owner and breeder, said he lived in Washington, but, “With the historic bill passing, I elected to come back to the Treasure Valley again … where my family lives.” He said he’s acquired property near Kuna, and built a breeding barn and racetrack. Idaho-bred horses are increasing in value now, Hoburg said, with the system in place. “With better purses, we get better horses and better participation from the public,” he said.

Mark Brown said, "I estimate at Les Bois Park we consume close to a thousand tons of hay in the summer. This is a big economic factor for our agricultural community and that. ... The tribes like to have a monopoly. ... They do not want the competition." Rep. Pete Nielsen, R-Mountain Home, asked Brown, “This morning there was a gentleman that showed us, right on that screen over there, what these look like. I never saw a horse in the thing. I saw cherries flying all over the place. If you folks, let me say this, I’m puzzled, and I want to know why you haven’t presented something here to combat that that I can look at.” Brown responded, “It was a slanted version of how the machines work. I know that you can push it, you can bring the pie chart up. … You can do the handicapping just like you do at the race track. You can have the handicap helper pick the races for you. You can do the same thing at the race track ... just like what you do on these machines. … Granted the wheels and that do spin, the race is down here. … You can go back and watch the total race if you would like. It’s the operator’s preference.”