PA Governor Makes Commission Appointments
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Photo: Coady Photography
Presque Isle Downs, one of six Pennsylvania racetracks
The nine members of a reconstituted Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission have been appointed by Gov. Tom Wolf under legislation he signed into law in late February.
The “modernization” law represents the first major changes in horseracing regulation in Pennsylvania since the early 1990s. It also combined separate racing commissions for Thoroughbred and Standardbred racing into one.
The new commission, which will meet for the first time June 29, includes five representatives of the racing industry: Sal DeBunda (Thoroughbred horsemen), Russell Jones (Thoroughbred breeders), Thomas King III (Standardbred horsemen), Wendy Cameron (Standardbred breeders), and Dr. Corrinne Sweeney (veterinarian). Sweeney was one of three members of the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission.
The four members appointed by the state legislature are Thomas Ellis, James Coyle Lokhaiser, C. Edward Rogers, and Michelle Cummings Ruddy. Russell Redding, secretary of the state Department of Agriculture, is an ex-officio, non-voting member; the racing commission falls under the auspices of the department.
Brandi Hunter-Davenport, communications director for the Department of Agriculture, said May 20 that background checks for Cummings Ruddy and Ellis have been completed, so the appointments are final. Background checks for all other appointments are currently in process.
The Department of Agriculture last year said it could no longer afford to pay for operations and regulation, including day-to-day equine drug testing. The department has been solely reliant on the State Racing Fund, which derives revenue from in-state pari-mutuel handle; revenue has dropped by about 70% in the past 15 years, according to state statistics.
The 2004 law that authorized racetrack gaming in Pennsylvania made provisions for purses and horsemen’s pensions but not regulation and promotion. Under the new law, a cut of money from the Race Horse Development Fund will now go to pay for drug testing and the promotion and marketing of racing.
About $11.3 million from the RHDF will go toward drug testing in fiscal year 2016-17. Beginning July 1 of this year, 1% of revenue in the RHDF will be transferred to the State Racing Fund for promotion of horse racing; based on current revenue that would amount to $2.4 million a year.
Pennsylvania has six tracks, three Thorouoghbred and three Standardbred.