Derby Week Again And Still No Local Ponies Racing

One of the great traditions in Boise was celebrating Derby Day by being at Les Bois Park. If you couldn't afford the trip to Kentucky then Les Bois park was the best place to be on Derby Day to feel the excitement the sport of Kings used to bring to the Valley.

I'm not a gambler but I'd take twenty dollars to the track and put two dollars on every race and I'd always come out even and entertained for an entire afternoon.

Can't say that about the movie theatre where 20-bucks was what it took to get a decent sized popcorn and drink.

But now I stray from the point that Derby week has once again reminded me that horse racing in Boise is gone.

Save Idaho Horse racing is trying to bring the sport back but apparently it'll take the money brought in by gambling terminals to float the live racing.

It didn't used to be that way but apparently betting on historical horse racing machines, deemed illegal by the legislature in 2015 is the key to supporting live racing.

115,000 signatures have been collected according to Save Idaho Horse racing, enough they hope to get the issue to legalize the machines on the November ballot.

The North Idaho voter project is against legalizing the machines and has been accused of harassing Save Idaho Horse racing signature seekers with threats and bribes.

The Coeur d'Alene Tribe, which owns a casino in Worley, says the accusations are not true.

Unfortunately the elephant in the room isn't horse racing, it's gambling. That's sad for folks like me who enjoy horse racing as a sport. You know, those people who'd rather watch and enjoy a football game than sweat it out because their money is riding on their fantasy team.

Enjoy Derby week because right now it's the nearest Idaho can get to experience the thunder of hoofs, the Sport of Kings.