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FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - A Republican senator said Friday he's still jockeying to allow Kentucky race tracks to offer an electric game based on old horse races, but acknowledged his effort to `generate more money for the racing industry has become a longshot.

Sen. Damon Thayer said support for his proposal has evaporated among his Republican colleagues since Senate President David Williams signaled he had problems with the measure.

"I'm scrambling to see if there are the votes to pass it out of committee next week and pass it on the (Senate) floor," Thayer, R-Georgetown, told reporters.

A week ago, the measure to authorize the Instant Racing electric game appeared to have hit its stride, having cleared a Senate committee with strong bipartisan support.

Since then, the bill has been sent back to committee after support fizzled, which Thayer attributed to Williams' skepticism of the bill and lobbying by anti-gambling forces.

"I haven't given up yet, but I think success is a long shot," Thayer said. "Occasionally in horse racing, long shots do come in."

Instant Racing is a game in which gamblers bet on past races without knowing the names of the horses or where or when the races took places. Players are given real statistics on the horses' records to help them make their bets. Thayer has said the game would raise money that could boost prizes for live races at Kentucky tracks.

Thayer said he had drafted another substitute version that he hopes to present next Wednesday to the Senate committee that he heads as chairman.

He said he would push for a version that would authorize Instant Racing through state law. The electronic game could be allowed through regulation, he said, but taking statutory action would have a better chance of withstanding a legal challenge.

Earlier in the week, Thayer was considering another version that would drop legislative authorization of Instant Racing. Instead, that version would have retained a proposed 1.5 percent tax on Instant Racing wagers should that form of gambling be approved through a gubernatorial executive order or by action from the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission.

Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear said Thursday he supports the concept of Instant Racing. He said he hoped a version would pass "in an acceptable form so we can put Instant Racing into effect."

Asked if he would take action, or urge the racing commission to do so, if the legislation fails, Beshear replied, "I haven't really gotten that far yet in my thinking."

Beshear has been a strong proponent of expanding gambling at Kentucky race tracks by allowing video slot machines, and his budget proposal assumed $780 million in new revenue from the slots.

But the proposal has been a nonstarter with lawmakers this year.

The Instant Racing game is played at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas, where track officials credit it with helping generate millions that can be used to boost prices for live racing.

Thayer's proposal includes taxing those wagers in Kentucky for a fund that supplements race purses for Kentucky-bred horses at Kentucky tracks. It also would create a license fee of up to $10,000 each year to operate the Instant Racing game at each place.

Thayer sees Instant Racing as another form of betting on horses.

How the game is played, on machines resembling video lottery terminals, has made some lawmakers uncomfortable, he has said.

Williams, R-Burkesville, said that at one time he doubted whether Instant Racing could be considered an expansion of gambling. But as the debate continued, he said he decided that "it does no good to vote for the bill" because many see it as an expansion of gambling.

Williams said Friday that gambling advocates would seize on any momentum to advance their efforts to legalize video slot machines at tracks. Williams has staunchly opposed that proposal.

"Any kind of crack in the armour that the pro-gambling folks see they're going to try to take advantage of," Williams told reporters.

Thayer has insisted that any attempt to allow slot machines at tracks should be done only through a referendum that lets Kentucky voters decide the issue.

Thayer said Friday that support for his Instant Racing proposal among Senate Republicans has dwindled to a "very few," but was still holding out some hope.

Racing supporters have raised concerns that Kentucky's racing industry is falling behind tracks elsewhere that have sweetened purses by offering alternative gaming.

"I would like to leave here knowing that we did something to provide some help and some hope to the horse industry," Thayer said.

The measure also would impose a 1.5 percent tax on fast-growing Internet and phone wagering of Kentucky horse races, with the money also going to boost live racing in Kentucky.

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The legislation is House Bill 368.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)