Oh and they forgot to mention the 3 Billion Dollar economic impact from horse racing in the state of New York
Jobs and economic impact? The justification for horse racing is based on industry claims of 19,000 jobs and $3.3 billion in economic impact. This American Horse Council report, 9 only a few pages in length, was funded by the industry itself, and costs $50 to obtain. In it, there is no mention of the lack of revenue to support the state, no verifiable details and comprehensive data on the jobs and economic impact, and certainly no analysis of the potential economic impact of redirecting billions in subsidies to other businesses with far greater potential to grow the economy of New York. Jobs and economic impact are not unique to horse racing. That’s why New York grants business licenses—to create those benefits for the state. Hundreds of thousands of private businesses in New York receive no public bailout and yet create millions of jobs and generate hundreds of billions in economic impact. Citing the previously mentioned journalist Ryan Goldberg “Every few years, the industry trots out industry-financed economic impact studies from racing organizations or trade groups like the American Horse Council. Their numbers then appear in state or state-commissioned reports as authoritative sources, when they’re anything but. I looked at a recent one treated like gospel, published in 2018 by the American Horse Council about New York’s horse industry. It certainly didn’t show its work; it was thinly sourced and confusing, with lots of bold numbers interspersed with glossy photos of horses from NYRA racetracks, photos credited to New York’s thoroughbred horsemen’s association. It reported that New York racing created 12,815 direct jobs and close to 7,000 in indirect jobs—tourism included—for a total impact of $3.08 billion on the state’s economy. It later noted, however, that just 2,583 people were employed in “racing and track operation,” which seems to be the most relevant category. The study, it acknowledged, was commissioned “with major support” from New York’s thoroughbred horsemen’s and breeders’ associations.” 16 Where exactly are these 19,000 jobs? When Global Foundries, the Department of Motor Vehicles, or your local supermarket chain talk job numbers, they support their claims. Racing does not do that. What percent of racing jobs are full-time, earning a livable wage and have healthcare, retirement or family leave benefits? How many poorly compensated jobs in racing must rely on low income state programs? New York State should demand detailed, county by county, job data so the state can independently verify the “19,000” jobs. In the words of Bennett Liebman, the former New York State Deputy Secretary for Gaming and Racing, and cited here earlier “We may not know how many jobs [racing] has produced, but it is certainly nowhere near the levels that the surveys authored on behalf of the industry have indicated.” If we cared about the workers in this industry we would stop talking about the questionable number of jobs and start talking about the quality of the jobs themselves. Where exactly is the detailed proof of the $3.3 billion claimed in economic impact? Think about this example: the Saratoga County Industrial Development Agency reports10 in great detail that the Saratoga Race Course is responsible for $237 million in economic impact for the large 9-county region around its flat track. This single track in Saratoga is responsible for more than 50% of the attendance of all eleven tracks in New York,11 much of the state’s breeding and most of the tourism. How is it possible then that it has only $237 million, or 8%, of the touted $3.3 billion in economic impact claimed by racing? Are the other 10 tracks, with less combined attendance than the Saratoga Race Course alone, somehow responsible for the remaining 92% of racing’s total speculative state-wide economic impact? That seems impossible. The American Horse Council study does not identify how much of this economic impact is “net new” and would not occur if the industry were absent, or if the industry changed such that horse racing decreased and the recreational and competition sectors remained the same. The study does not provide the level of analysis necessary to understand the true economic impact or drain on taxpayers of horse racing in New York State. Yet, the media, legislators and racing interests hold this dubious study up as factual. It’s also stated by racing that billions in casino subsidies are justified because racing funds agricultural jobs, farms, green space and tourism. If that were so, New York would equitably subsidize the many diverse businesses achieving these same goals. As one example, the larger equine competition and recreation sectors encompass many more horses and produce employment and economic impact in New York State—without casino subsidies. Racing is unique in that it has a far greater and disproportionate influence in government, giving it a broad range of specialized benefits, subsidies and tax exemptions. Future attendance predictions are dismal. 2021 Marist Poll results12 show horse racing is not something New Yorkers care about as 91% of those surveyed stated they have no intention of ever attending and 6% reporting they intend to go once or twice. Attending one or two days of racing when there are 1,200 days of racing in New York, rounds to zero economic impact—for 97% of New Yorkers in the poll. Unfair to other businesses in New York.
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