Lawmakers in West Virginia are considering separating the state’s horse and dog racing industries from its casino gaming operations, which critics say would destabilize the state’s racing industry.
West Virginia currently uses a portion of funds accrued from video gaming to subsidize purses for horse racing and dog racing at state racetracks. Allowing the racetracks to provide video gaming was supposed to help stabilize and preserve the state’s racing and breeding industry.
But some state lawmakers want to eliminate a requirement that tracks provide actual live racing in order to keep the gaming licenses for their video gaming terminals. Doing so, they say, would eliminate losses incurred by live racing, while making their betting operations more profitable, resulting in improve economic conditions.
Critics contend eliminating the requirement for live racing would cripple the state’s racing and breeding industries, particularly at two greyhound race tracks.
Even the talk of possibly eliminating the live racing requirement has breeders leaving the state due to the uncertainty of the future of live horse and dog racing in West Virginia, says Delegate Paul Espinosa.
In Jefferson and Hancock counties alone, the horse racing industry employs more than 5,000, according to industry estimate. State Senator Herb Snyder represents Jefferson County and said repealing the live racing requirement goes against the very reason voters chose to allow live racing to include video gaming terminals.
If state lawmakers undo what voters approved, Snyder says thousands of his constituents and others could lose their jobs, and the state and local units could lose millions of dollars in revenues.
