Of all the daft, desperate arguments offered by the racing industry in defense of their massive, tax-payer-funded subsidization, nothing quite matches the “preservation of open spaces.” I recently found this from the “Pennsylvania Horse Racing Association”:
“Pennsylvania is home to the most permanently preserved farmland in the nation – due, in part, to the Commonwealth’s strong equine industry. We’re proud to be a partner in supporting and protecting our state’s iconic beauty and its hardworking farmers.
“Wherever there’s horse racing, you’ll find open fields filled with horses, hay and little colts not far away. Land preservation is one of the sport’s most positive and least discussed perks that not only provides residents with natural recreation areas, but also gives many Pennsylvanians indirect jobs.
“Thanks to the Pennsylvania Race Horse Development Fund [source of that aforementioned subsidization], over eight thousand indirect jobs have been created on account of the horse racing industry. Quite a few of those jobs are on farms – farms to train, feed and house racehorses across the state.”
First, the only residents seedy racetracks “provide with natural recreation areas” are sad, old horseplayers – a rapidly-fading demographic if ever there was one. Second, where is their data on the 8,000 jobs? Regardless, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, PA is home to over six million jobs. Six million – and they’re crowing about 8,000? If not for the gravity involved – abused, dying horses – ‘twould be worthy of an SNL skit.
The open spaces they speak of are the grandstands at any given track.
The public relations piece has a fairy tale-like quality to it.
There was a drastic downturn in the overall economy going back to the 1990s when most of the local businesses reduced the number of hours that an employee can work. The standard 40-hour work week (full-time) WITH benefits was reduced to a 39-hour work week (part-time) WITHOUT benefits.
There is nothing beautiful about forcing underdeveloped colts and fillies to carry over a hundred pounds of rider wielding a whip and possibly a buzzer to run at top speed knowing that they are not able to hold up under the daily routine abuse that is inherent to horseracing.
There is nothing beautiful about the ongoing reality of doping hurting and sore horses to run in subsidized races. There is nothing beautiful about the constant violations of the whipping rules established by the racing commissions.
There is nothing beautiful about the problem of veterinarians prioritizing their paychecks over the safety and well-being of the horses. It is immoral and unethical what goes on; the racetrack management paying the racetrack veterinarian to pass unfit horses to race in order to fill the race card.
Imagine the quality of life for the grooms who, in some cases, don’t necessarily get a bath for six months at a time and live in a stall or a tack room or some other run down excuse for housing; this is true nationwide, not just Pennsylvania.
But we should all be stupid, gullible, not well informed and believe the fairy tale-like report that, without the subsidized abuse and killing of horses, there would not be beautiful wide open spaces.
These people will say or do anything to keep making profits from this evil industry!
In our state we can take you to many past horse farms that are now empty abandoned properties that are either for sale or just plain vacant. Many of these farms would have made excellent pleasure horse facilities but are now just idle land. Jobs?? We once had these kinds of jobs! Pay of $500 monthly in 1990 working 6 days a week cleaning stalls & teaching young horses to be ridden. Helped build many of the facilities including the training tracks as well as maintaining & repairing equipment. Lived in the barn with the horses! Had ancient range for cooking & wood fired. equally ancient, stove for heating of living 1/4`s as well as its use for heating water to take a shower! Many disenfranchised people who are rampantly discriminated against are GREATLY taken advantage of in the racing industry, despite having university degrees as ourselves.
I do believe there’s quite a few articles out there done independently that break this down to the joke it is. Meanwhile the actual farms around the area ( penn national ) are being sold left and right to be developed into commercial properties because said actual farmers cant sustain a living.
Jobs: have a friend that worked at one of these farms had to quit was considered part time yet he was working many hrs 6 days a week. Know of a groom that also works many hrs 6 days a week does not have his own place, lives in efficiency apartment because he doesn’t make enough money.
Most of these preserved open spaces are houses with an old barn, broken down fences and unkept looking horses with manure runoff that has polluted the water ways.
Billions of dollars invested, thousands of horses killed, drugging and corruption scandals frequent thats the pa racehorse development fund
The fact-book from The Jockey Club shows stallion numbers dropping in PA (e.g., 34 stallions in 2022) and mares bred shrinking but doesn’t enumerate breeding farms. The one Thoroughbred breeding farm I was aware of in my area of western PA closed decades ago. It became a boarding facility for recreational horses. The rest of the acreage was sold to a soybean farmer, and we see how that’s turning out for soybean farmers under the current administration.