From PaulickReport.com July 6, 2017
Many have voiced opinions recently with regards to what should be done with Massachusetts' Race Horse Development Fund, an account established in 2011 by the Massachusetts legislature to “get the industry back on its feet.” The fund currently has about $15.5 million in its *coffers, and it continues to grow thanks to casino revenue. {* As of 2022, the fund had over $22 million}
Massachusetts lawmakers have been eyeing the fund, which could help out other programs in the budget. Recently, the Massachusetts Senate has added a provision to its 2018 budget proposal that would transfer $15 million from the Race Horse Development Fund and move it into the General Fund by June 30, 2018.
In a recent column in the Boston Herald, Matt Stout and Jack Encarnacao write that while the fund was created to help bolster purses at racetracks such as Suffolk Downs, the money really just goes back to “well-heeled” horse owners in the state.
The article lists a few of the owners that have had horses win races at Suffolk Downs, including Patricia Moseley, the widow of James Moseley, former owner of Suffolk Downs. Her horses have won $176,350 since 2015, when the racing fund was created.
Greg Sullivan, a former state inspector general told the Herald that it “makes no sense” for casino tax money to end up in wealthy horse owners' pockets.
“Now here we are, Suffolk Downs is being sold, and they're sitting on this pile of money, which is winding up in the pockets of millionaires at a time when Massachusetts is essentially broke,” Sullivan said.
“This should be terminated immediately, and those funds should be used for important purposes in Massachusetts.”
Read more in the Boston Herald
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