A large group of green-clad members of Nebraska's horse-racing industry showed up at the state capitol in Lincoln yesterday to show their support for a bill which would allow the implementation of 'instant racing' machines

in the state.

A report by the Lincoln Journal Star explains that the bill's opponents in the state have filed 14 pending amendments to the legislation, stating that the measure would usher in expanded gaming.

Horseman Ron Westermann opted to speak of the hypocrisy in the state in regard to expanded gaming, and wished that the legislators would understand the impact the industry has on the state in terms of employment and economics.

"They (anti-gaming-expansion legislators) need to get beyond the gambling issue," Westermann was quoted as saying. "They need to consider the industry part of it and the jobs."

Westermann also pointed out that there hasn't been an uproar when the state lottery decides that it wants to expand its gaming offerings. "It (the state lottery) just rolls on. It gets bigger and bigger, but we're always regulated, no matter what we do."

(With files from the Lincoln Journal Star)