Pennsylvania Racing

Thoroughbred Idea Foundation Pat Cummings's comment on Pa. Governor Tom Wolf's plan to divert the bulk of funding from the Race Horse Development fund (representing about 90% of all purse monies in the state) was both courageous and spot on. For too long Pennsylvania racetracks and horsemen's organizations alike have focused their efforts almost exclusively on procuring annual revenues from slot machine proceeds, while doing little or nothing to build the racing business or promote the sport. In the long run, no state is going to prop up a dying...

This week's Green Group Guest of the Week on the TDN's Writers' Room Podcast, Thoroughbred Idea Foundation Executive Director Pat Cummings, implored the racing industry to learn from what has happened in Pennsylvania and to end what he sees as decades of complacency. Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf has submitted a budget that calls for $204 million to be diverted from the state's Race Horse Development Fund and used for a program that would provide college scholarships for Pennsylvania residents. Should the money, which comes from slot machines proceeds, be taken...

The Thoroughbred Idea Foundation was formed to cultivate and put forth independent ideas to help Thoroughbred racing. Pat Cummings, the TIF's executive director, joined the TDN Writers' Room podcast this week, where the timely discussion centered on how the racing industry can sustain itself--the subject of the group's new white paper, and a particularly timely topic given this week's news from Pennsylvania. The writers discuss the Pa. situation and review last weekend's three-year-old preps. Listen to those topics and more, on this week's Writers' Room podcast by clicking here.

A day after receiving the potentially devastating news that as much as 80% of the slots money that goes to purses in the state of Pennsylvania may be diverted elsewhere, leaders of the state's breeding industry began to plot a campaign that they hope will convince politicians that the industry must be protected. Tuesday, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf unveiled a budget proposal which called for $204 million to be taken out of the Race Horse Development Fund and diverted to a program that would provide college scholarships for Pennsylvania residents....

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf submitted his 2020-2021 budget Tuesday, which called for a massive cut in the amount of money that goes to horse racing from slots proceeds. Wolf is seeking to take $204 million away from the Race Horse Development Fund, which totals about $250 million. Such a move would prove devastating to racing and breeding industries, as slot money accounts for 88% of the total purses. "This scheme would destroy an industry that provides a $1.6-billion economic impact and supports an estimated 16,000 to 23,000 jobs in the...