The Meadows Standardbred Owners Association’s Purse Committee will implement a 10% purse decrease at The Meadows as of February 1, 2013.
This measure was deemed necessary due to the negative impact of the recent $5,000,000 Pennsylvania Farm Show and County Fair reduction of the Race Horse Development Fund (RHDF) and the 4.6% drop in slots handle during the first half of the Commonwealth’s fiscal year. (July – December).
“This is disappointing news for our horsemen, naturally,” said Rich Gillock, MSOA President. “However, we are hopeful that the MSOA and the Pennsylvania Equine Coalition will be successful in getting all or a portion of the money back that was removed from the Race Horse Development Fund three years ago as part of a budget adjustment. We took a 17% reduction at that time. We will continue working toward that goal.”
The bill that took the 17%, which equaled a $46 million cut, is scheduled to sunset on June 30 of this year.
