Senate

The Florida Senate's Finance and Tax Committee unanimously advanced a tax cut proposal to the full Senate Apr. 18 that includes credits to Gulfstream Park and Tampa Bay Downs for prior-year assessments those tracks must pay to the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) Authority. But the News Service of Florida (NSF) reported Apr. 19 that the HISA tax breaks do not appear in an otherwise similar House version of the bill. The Senate's tax committee Chairman, Blaise Ingoglia, told NSF that the Thoroughbred industry in Florida is operating at...

A $1.7-trillion omnibus spending bill that includes language that would give the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) more authority over the Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) passed in the House of Representatives Friday. Friday's development came one day after the bill passed in the Senate. The bill will next go to President Joe Biden to be signed into law. The language in the bill relating to HISA is meant to address issues raised by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in November. That court ruled that HISA was unconstitutional...

The Arizona Senate moved a gaming bill through two committees--one unanimously--and it now awaits an assignment date for a vote by the full Senate. Senate Bill 1794 passed the Appropriations and Rules committees, with wide support. The bill authorizes historic horse racing, providing up to $140 million in new state tax revenues, as well as support for the state's horse racing industry. "This long-overdue modernization effort will help the many local businesses that support the horse racing industry and also provide much-needed revenue to the state," said Save Arizona Horse...

Sixteen prominent Thoroughbred trainers have expressed their support for the Horseracing Integrity Act via an open letter "to the Thoroughbred Community" sent out Friday. The trainers who signed on are: Tom Albertrani, Christophe Clement, Ben Colebrook, Gary Contessa, Arnaud Delacour, Janet Elliott, Mark Hennig, Kiaran McLaughlin, Shug McGaughey, Ken McPeek, Tom Morley, Graham Motion, Todd Pletcher, John Sadler, George Weaver and Nick Zito. The letter reads: "Horse racing is at a pivotal moment in its long history in the United States. The past six months presented a string of events...