While New York has the most tracks, I think it fair to call Kentucky the heart and soul of American horseracing. From breeding to tracks like Churchill and Keeneland to the Kentucky Derby itself, KY is ground zero. In fact, the title of a Louisville Public Media piece just ahead of this year’s Derby laid out our challenge there in no uncertain terms:
“Kentucky in a ‘golden age’ of horse racing supercharged by bigger prizes and more gambling”
The problem, as the title references, is that we’re not just up against “tradition” and all that. This “golden age” is being massively subsidized by the good taxpayers of the commonwealth – through, of course, slot machines (misleadingly called “historical horse racing machines”). These “HHR” machines – not betting on actual races or attendance – are the primary reason for a more than tripling of KY purses over the past 10 years, why the Derby purse increased 67% ($3M to $5M) in 2024, and why the short Kentucky Downs meet is the most lucrative in the nation.
To further drive home the point, the article notes: “Kentucky’s gaming agency reported that in 2024, people wagered about $10.1 billion on these machines – more than five times the amount bet on live horse racing in the state….”
What’s refreshing in this particular piece is some internal honesty. The article quotes prominent racehorse owner (and economist) Marshall Gramm. Calling the HHRs “a lawmaker-created monopoly” (only racing companies are allowed to operate them), Gramm freely concedes, “The industry is thriving in Kentucky and surviving in other places solely because of subsidies.” Indeed. He goes on:
“As a horse owner and someone who loves racing, I think this is great. As an economist, I think this is crazy. Does racing make sense in its current form if we can’t sustain ourselves? I don’t believe so. … I worry that we’re taking these subsidies, and we’re not using them to grow the sport enough.”
And in New Jersey…
Monmouth is set to open today with, as the Thoroughbred Daily News points out, serious problems: “When Monmouth Park opens its doors for the 2026 season on Saturday, the issues it faces will already be obvious. Only eight races were carded with 63 horses entered. With only 500 to 600 horses on the grounds, the Elkwood section of the backstretch has temporarily been closed. The Long Branch Stakes did not fill, but the racing office salvaged the race and it will be run Sunday with a field of six.”
And all that on the heels of: “[Monmouth] made headlines for the wrong reasons at the end of last year’s meet when it ran out of money and couldn’t immediately pay horsemen.”
The crux is that even with the state gifting both Monmouth and the Meadowlands $10M annually over the past few years, it hasn’t been enough. And now, new governor Mikie Sherrill has proposed cutting the subsidy to $5M in her 2027 budget. “Because of this uncertainty,” says the article, “a new bill was introduced in March [that] would allow Monmouth to drastically reduce its racing dates – to as few as 25 days [it’s currently scheduled for 50] – if the state fails to provide at least $10 million in purse money.”
In my estimation, even if the subsidy remains untouched, absent a racino – which Monmouth has been seeking with zero progress – the track is toast. Indeed, we just saw this in NJ with subsidized Freehold closing in 2024. (We will have an action on this soon.)
I am not distressed by Mr. Gramm’s worries. I am appalled that Kentuckians are indifferent to the comfort and welfare of the horses that are bred in that state, that bring in huge revenues not only in Kentucky, but in Maryland, and other jurisdictions throughout North America.
Churchill Downs bragged about profits of 663 million in the first 3 months of 2026, and not 1 dime is spent on the comfort and protection of horses that actually do the physical labor to make Kentucky a prosperous state. 10% of 663 million should be mandated by law and given to horse retirement and relief.
If such a monetary and legal protection was enacted and enforced (Exceller who earned close to 2 million for his connections would not have wound up in Sweden and murdered in a slaughter house).
The citizens of Kentucky and other states dispersed monies generated by the labor of horses to build schools, hospitals, libraries, etc. would have my respect, but I grew up in Maryland, a state that offered horse racing at Bowie and Laurel. Both towns were pitiful in the early 1950s.
Bowie was literally a feed store, a school, a church, blink your eye once and you missed what was supposed to be a town. Laurel in comparison to Bowie was the big city. Two hotels, a drug store, 2 Newspaper Agencies, a barber shop, a 5 and dime store, liquor store, a compact movie theatre, tiny library, and that was Main Street. Both communities owe a magnificent debt to horses because Bowie and Laurel were eyesores. And, Charles Town was the same.
The time for justice for horses is Now! The citizens of Maryland, West Virginia, Kentucky, New York et al must recognize what they gained by the misery imposed on horses and rouse their conscience to demand legal protection for race horses. A law can be enacted it just takes initiative and energy. The Jackie Coogan law was implemented in California because he earned a fortune as a child actor, but his parents criminally squandered his funds. Mr. Coogan as an adult was in penury hence the Coogan law was necessary to protect child actors from parental and financial abuse. Race horses are not only physically abused, but they are also robbed of the monies they earned in contests that are to sensitive horses the noise and war of hell.
Justice must be rendered and it must start in Kentucky and the other guilty states who allowed horses to be mentally and physically abused on the farm, at the track, and at the end of their careers shipped to the glue factory. We the people, must insist in Substantive and Compassionate Justice for race horses – their sufferings condemn America, Ireland, Canada, France, Italy et al are traitors to God because He made laws of kindness and compassion for all His creatures not just humanity. Horses are dying because they are not given even 1 day of rest and even God Himself took 1 day off to rest from His Labors….furthermore, He commanded that even the animals were entitled to have a day of rest.
ANYTHING that involves death to animals….I am against.
He, Marshall Gramm, says he’s worried that they are not using the subsidies to grow the sport enough. Does he really believe in the context of over 40 racetracks shutting down since the year 2000 that horseracing can be “grown” into being potentially profitable without being heavily subsidized?
Does anyone who is selfish enough to use horses as disposable gambling chips care about the common good of society as a whole? It appears that this is a great contradiction.
There is nothing about Animal Cruelty that should be subsidized and not punished. This so-called sport is inherently cruel to the horses.
I remember reading about Bob Baffert partying for a week after “winning” the Kentucky Derby. As many people know, he doped horses like crazy and had a nickname of Teflon Bob due to his rampant in-your-face cheating. This is the kind of moral depravity that these subsidies are supporting.
The money should be going to the Kentucky Humane Society to help rescue racehorses that have been abandoned by the people of this so-called sport. How many horses have been abused, neglected, starved and abandoned in Eastern Kentucky alone?