Dollars & Meaning: Power in Racing’s Work Numbers

As I walked during Kentucky Derby week on the backstretch at Churchill DownsI came across the Kentucky Equine Education Project initiative, which has put a group of state lawmakers in a difficult position.

When asked to summarize the success of the historic pari-mutuel game that brought more money to horse racing and breeding in Kentucky, I mentioned the industry that helped Kentucky gain recognition on the market. around the world, the green spaces that this agricultural sector brings and the tourism it attracts. But I never strayed from the main benefit: employment.

It’s a major selling point for the horse racing and livestock industry, again scoring highly in the American Horse Council’s 2023 Economic Impact Study for the U.S. Horse Industry. As I noted that morning, traditional casino gaming can bring in a certain amount of money to state coffers—as does HHR—but unlike casinos, our industry has a major impact on job.

As AHC wrote in its article on racehorses—and as every owner and breeder knows—racehorses require significant expenditures for breeding, maintenance, and training. Additional fees while the horse is in training include insurance, veterinarian, farrier and racing fees. There are transportation fees between racetracks and farms as well as boarding fees when horses are not in training. Racehorses also need specialized food and supplies. The racing sector also involves large indirect expenditures on specialized service providers.

While everyone involved may wish for an easier way, especially when the bill comes, it’s an investment they’re willing to make in the hope that the wallet can help pay off. beneficial for investment. The good news for the racing industry in general is that all of those fees are tied to employment.

The AHC numbers tell that impressive story. The racing sector (largely thoroughbred racing but also including other breeds) supports more than 312,000 direct jobs and adds $16 billion in direct value to the national economy. These direct impacts bring an additional $20 billion in added value to the economy and nearly 179,000 jobs from indirect and generative efforts.

It’s great to meet groups like the California Horse Power Coalition and SaddleUpNY! leverages the numbers from AHC’s research, as well as their own, in an effort to educate the public. CHPC reported that the horse ecosystem (racing and non-racing) provided a total of $11.6 billion to the California economy and directly contributed $6.5 billion to the state’s GDP while SaddleUpNY! reports that the Thoroughbred and Standardbred racing sectors in the Empire State alone deliver an economic impact of $3 billion and a job impact of 19,785.

“Economic impact studies are the most effective tools in our advocacy work,” said Julie Broadway, president of AHC. “When industry needs to target a problem, this data is invaluable in helping us paint a picture of the industry’s contributions and the breadth and depth of its composition.”