Race Horse Development Fund

Todd Mostoller, the executive director of the Pennsylvania Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (PHBPA), painted a dire economic picture of the state's Thoroughbred and Standardbred racing industries on Tuesday when he told commissioners at the monthly meeting of the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission (PHRC) that the 20-year-old legislative funding mechanism for purses has become "cannibalized" by increased competition among casinos that is harming the state's Race Horse Development Fund (RHDF). "The business model that was created by Act 71 [the Pennsylvania Race Horse Development and Gaming Act of 2004] that...

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....