‘Historical horse racing’ expected to qualify for ballot

Election officials say a proposal to legalize so-called “historical horse racing” in Idaho appears to have secured enough verifiable signatures to qualify for the November ballot. It’s now up to the state’s election office to determine if the signatures meet legislative district requirements.

Idaho Secretary of State Lawerence Denney said Friday that county clerks across the state have unofficially verified roughly 61,400 that organizers submitted earlier this year. Under Idaho rules the signatures don’t become official until they are delivered to the Secretary of State’s office.

The effort needed at least 56,192 signatures to qualify. However, those signatures must also come from 6 percent of the registered voters in at least 18 of Idaho’s 35 legislative districts. The Idaho Secretary of State’s office will now decide if that requirement has been met.

Historical horse racing involves bettors using terminals to place bets on randomly selected past horse races.

The lucrative betting machines, also known as “instant racing terminals,” were legal between 2013 and 2015, but lawmakers banned them after deciding they resembled illegal slot machines.