Lexington, Ky. (Tuesday, March 29, 2022) – The Kentucky Equine Education Project (KEEP) released this statement following the passage of HB 607:
KEEP applauds the Kentucky General Assembly for the passage of HB 607, legislation that will modernize taxation on pari-mutuel wagering.
A tremendous amount of work went into crafting this new tax policy and KEEP is grateful to the legislators who served on the Pari-Mutuel Wagering Taxation Task Force for the time and effort they put into fully understanding the economic structure of Kentucky’s horse industry. We would also like to applaud Senate Majority Floor Leader Thayer and Representative Koenig for their leadership as co-chairs of the task force. The resulting legislation was able to strike a delicate balance between increasing revenue for the state, while at the same time not arbitrarily raising tax rates in a way that would damage the economic success of the industry.
The entire horse industry was engaged in this process and KEEP was proud to work closely with legislators to ensure that they had access to the full picture of what economic benefits the industry has on the Commonwealth.
KEEP will continue working on behalf of Kentucky’s entire horse industry and community to advocate for policies that benefit everyone within the industry’s economic ecosystem. Growing the success of the industry’s more than 60,000 jobs and $6.5 billion economic impact on the state benefits all Kentuckians.
ABOUT KEEP
The Kentucky Equine Education Project, Kentucky’s equine economic advocate, is a not-for-profit grassroots organization created in 2004 to preserve, promote and protect Kentucky’s signature multi-breed horse industry. KEEP is committed to ensuring Kentucky remains the horse capital of the world, including educating Kentuckians and elected officials of the importance of the horse industry to the state. KEEP was the driving force in the establishment of the Kentucky Breeders Incentive Fund, which has paid out more than $177 million to Kentucky breeders since its inception in 2006, and pari-mutuel wagering on historical horse racing, which has been responsible for more than $40 million to purses and more than $24 million to the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund.
KEEP works to strengthen the horse economy in Kentucky through our statewide network of citizen advocates. To learn more about how you can become a member or support our work, please visit www.horseswork.com.
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