The closing of Les Bois Park in Boise earlier this year knocked the funding props out from under the Idaho Racing Commission—depriving it of its largest source of revenue. Les Bois was the largest racetrack in the state.
A percentage of all horseracing revenues is earmarked for the commission, which also gets money from license permits and fees to pay for its main function: regulating the racing industry, which includes nine remaining tracks.
At this point the commission is expected to collect $80,000 for all its operations. Which won’t pay for hiring part time staff and veterinarians to inspect horses.
The commission also needs to hire investigators to ferret out illegal activity and animal cruelty.
Since its revenue source has all but dried up, the commission plans to ask the legislature to step in and make up the difference. It is asking for a larger percentage of online betting revenue—which would shrink the size of purses—which would make racetracks less competitive. Under the proposal the commission would receive $334,000 for fiscal year 2018.
Horse racing in Idaho has been a slow death spiral for several years, with racing being replaced by other forms of gaming.
Several years ago, this decline saw some hope when the legislature authorized betting machines that relied on historical races. However, the state’s Indian tribes said the machines were too much like slot machines and the legislature repealed the legislation.
