Pa. horse racing agencies said to face insolvency

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s top two state senators are supporting a bill to dissolve the state’s two horse racing commissions and shift regulatory responsibility for the sport to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.

Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati and Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi are co-sponsoring the bill introduced Tuesday by Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Elder Vogel.

The committee’s executive director, Michael Rader, said today the commissions that regulate harness racing and thoroughbred racing are on the brink of insolvency. He cited rising personnel costs and the expansion of Internet betting that isn’t subject to the pari-mutuel tax that finances the commissions.

Vogel’s bill would put the gaming board in charge of regulating the industry. The cost would be offset partly by new licensing fees for racing participants and for drug-testing of horses.