State racing subsidy won't get review

By Lesley Stedman Weidenbener
lstedman@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal

INDIANAPOLIS -- Gov. Mitch Daniels said yesterday that he won't pursue a recommendation to review a $27 million annual subsidy for the state's horse-racing industry and has no plans to try to eliminate it.

His comments came a few days after his Office of Management and Budget recommended the review in an efficiency report requested by lawmakers.

The report doesn't actually recommend eliminating the subsidy, which comes from riverboat casino taxes.

But it questions its rationale. About $10.8 million goes directly to the state's two racetracks. The rest of the money is used to bolster purses.

"It is unclear if these subsidies are intended to exist in perpetuity," the report said, "or if the horse-racing industry is expected to become self-sufficient sometime in the future."

The suggested review was one of about 150 recommendations in the report. Yesterday Daniels said his office already is acting on many of the ideas.

But he said reviewing the subsidy is "just not a priority of mine at this time."

Read more on the racing subsidy at the Courier - Journal.Com