It seems so easy, really: Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear placing the state’s first legal sports bet on Sept. 7.
Kentucky basketball futures bet. Here’s $20.
But it could be a lot more complicated when the Democrat celebrates the launch of sports betting in Kentucky as the celebrity first wagerer at Churchill Downs Racetrack.
He’ll be standing in Louisville, after all. And those folks don’t see the Bluegrass State as a monolithic blue bloc.
And Beshear’s from Louisville.
But Beshear attended Vanderbilt as an undergrad and then Virginia law school. He couldn’t rightly bet an out-of-state school first. And wagering on the Commodores would add an extra Kentucky brown layer of absurdity. Because they’re awful.
And Beshear left this clue at an Aug. 24 “Team Kentucky” update conference:
“You can guess online what the bets are going to be. I’ll be ready to support our in-state schools and, of course, to root against Duke.”
All right, circling back with that knowledge. What if he just goes with the next Kentucky or Louisville football game for expediency?
Let’s take a look. … Sept. 9 … The Cardinals are idle after just playing Murray State. … Wildcats host Eastern Kentucky.
Nope. There’s votes out there, too. A couple.
OK, OK. NFL. That stirs the drink. Week 1 of the NFL season commences days later with Cincinnati at the Cleveland Browns. Many of the state’s residents claim the Bengals. Joe Burrow seems fine. Maybe a Super Bowl future.
Still, that feels like an awful Ohio-y way to begin a day Beshear tried for years to make happen for Kentucky.
OK, back to Louisville. He’s standing there. And the other side of the Ohio River is right there (plus three or four miles), giving him an idea: bet on the Cardinals’ next football game on Sept. 16 against Indiana. Kentuckians of all school colors can get behind some Hoosier animosity.
Problem solved.
Oh, wait. No. No way he starts with an across-the-aisle ‘Cats-Cards parlay? Right.
NOTE: We made these up.
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