Industry, PA officials work to solve deficit

Talks between officials with the state Department of Agriculture and representatives of horse racing in Pennsylvania made “significant progress” Friday toward solving a budget shortfall and avoiding a threatened shutdown of the industry, participants said.

Kim Hankins, executive director of the Meadows Standardbred Owners Association, attended the negotiations in Harrisburg and expressed optimism that a resolution might be possible early next week.

More than two dozen “shareholders” in Pennsylvania horse racing — including breeders, horsemen’s groups and track operators — gathered in the office of Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding, who attended the talks, Mr. Hankins said.

At issue was a projected $9.2 million deficit the industry’s drug testing creates in the state budget. Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration on Thursday said it would stop horse racing at six tracks as soon as next week if the industry did not pay more in costs.

The most significant development Friday, Mr. Hankins said, was word that the industry would lease rather than purchase new laboratory testing equipment, cutting expenses by a third. The remaining $6.2 million that is needed is the subject of further discussion.

“The meeting was very cooperative,” Mr. Hankins said. “There was some dissension due to the fact that the governor’s office put out a release talking about the shutdown of racing. We thought that was very unnecessary. … I don’t think there was ever a possibility of shutting down racing. But the governor’s office exerted a little pressure.

“We didn’t take it very well because we have the largest Standardbred sale of horses coming up next week here in Harrisburg, and it could cause people to be concerned about the health of the industry and to not bid like they otherwise would. So we took offense at it. We expressed those concerns at the meeting. Everybody was pretty forthright with their opinions.”

Salvatore M. DeBunda, president of the Pennsylvania Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, said “the process is working” but also resented the governor’s threat.

“There was no reason this could not have been resolved in a different way instead of these fire drill conditions,” he said.

Those in attendance Friday are to submit additional suggestions Monday, Mr. Hankins said, with a resolution possible Tuesday. But there remain some sticking points.

One concern is a bill in the Legislature, proposed by state Sen. Elder Vogel Jr., R-New Sewickley, and approved by the Senate this summer, that aims to update state horse racing regulations, including the combining of separate commissions under the Department of Agriculture for thoroughbred and harness racing into a single oversight commission.

“Pennsylvania has a good racehorse act, but there has not been a major overhaul in more than 30 years,” Mr. Hankins said. “There are things that need to be addressed because the industry has changed. Those are things that are being talked about. A good share of this has already been agreed to, but a few issues remain.”

By Dan Majors / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Reprinted with permission of the http://www.post-gazette.com/