PA-Bred Fund Compromise Bill Prepared

A Pennsylvania lawmaker will introduce legislation that would restore delayed breeder and stallion awards payments and also alter some of the parameters of the Thoroughbred breeding program.

Republican Rep. Martin Causer said the bill, which will be inserted in the state agriculture code to prevent attachment of non-related provisions, would "clarify language regarding the eligibility of Thoroughbred breeders and owners receiving payments from the Pennsylvania Breeding Fund." The House of Representatives will reconvene Sept. 19 and the Senate a week later.

Ambiguous language in an omnibus horseracing reform law that took effect in late February led the state Department of Agriculture, which oversees racing and breeding, to suspend payment of breeder and stallion awards. The amount of money being held has reached $6 million, and the delay has caused economic hardship for those who rely on the money to pay their monthly bills.

Despite repeated attempts, the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association has been unable to convince the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission, which falls under the Department of Agriculture, to reinstate the payments. The PHRC in late August did vote to urge lawmakers to act quickly to rectify the situation, but legal counsel has insisted that can only occur with statutory changes.

The impact will be heightened when Parx Racing reopens Sept. 3 after a more than three-week break. It's the most financially lucrative month at Parx for breeders, but the award payments remain in limbo.

Causer's bill includes the current financial structure of breeder and stallion award percentages but notes those provisions will terminate Dec. 31, 2016.

Under current law, which is based on top-three finishers, breeders receive 30% of the respective share of the purse for a Pennsylvania-bred sired by a Pennsylvania-registered stallion, and 20% for a Pennsylvania-bred by an out-of-state stallion. The owner of a Pennsylvania stallion earns 10% should its Pennsylvania-bred progeny place first, second, or third.

The new language, which would take effect in 2017, increases the Pennsylvania-sired awards to 40% and leaves the other two percentages unchanged. It also clearly defines how fund money that remains each year after the deduction of expenses for administration of the program—overseen by the PHBA—can be paid.

Current language gives the excess to racetracks to be used "solely" for state-bred stakes and, in general terms, any overnight race for state-breds. Causer's bill states the excess funds must be paid as follows: 50% for owner bonuses or restricted purses for Pennsylvania-breds by Pennsylvania stallions, and 50% for owner bonuses for Pennsylvania-breds by out-of-state stallions.

The breeding program is supported by about $18 million a year from the Race Horse Development Fund, which gets a share of revenue from casino slot machines. The overall program is advertised at roughly $30 million because of contributions from horsemen's purse accounts toward restricted races in the state.

During the Aug. 24 PHRC meeting, Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding said a compromise on the award percentages would likely be necessary for lawmakers to pass a bill and get the payments restored.