September 11, 2014 4:30 PM

Court ruling on historical racing is expected next week

Conservatives in a showdown with race tracks over the slot machine-like gambling

A state district judge in Tarrant County on Thursday indicated he may rule early next week after listening to two days of arguments on whether the Texas Racing Commission is overstepping its constitutional authority by approving what's called "historical racing." The ruling could come Wednesday at the latest, Judge David Evans told observers in the courtroom.

For those unfamiliar with it, "historical racing" terminals look like slot machines but they show a gambler a video of a previously-run horse race. The thing is, we are assured, betters can't know in advance who wins the races because all identifying marks have been digitally removed from the video. Ahh, technology.

About two weeks ago, the Racing Commission approved a rulemaking allowing for the machines. The representative for the Department of Public Safety on the commission was the lone “no” vote and argued that they agency was acting outside its authority. Rep. Dan Flynn-R Van, has asked Attorney General Greg Abbott for an opinion on this. The AG has yet to weigh in.

By Scott Braddock