|
Horse Power
 By Olivia Maddox
An industry windfall
Although pari-mutuel horse racing is only in its eighth season in Indiana, it has an annual economic impact of $129 million, employs more than 2,800 workers and involves some 8,700 Indiana horses, according to McNamara and agricultural economist Mary Knudson, who conducted an economic impact study for the Indiana Horse Racing Commission.
"People in the horse industry purchase feed, veterinarian services and other goods and services to support their horse enterprises," says McNamara, who will do a similar analysis for the equine impact survey. "This initial economic activity stimulates spending as horse industry suppliers make purchases to support their businesses. Additionally, households that earn income from horse farms or their suppliers spend money in the economy."
The Indiana General Assembly legislation that authorized pari-mutuel wagering and riverboat gambling has been a boon for the state's horse industry. Horse racing receives a share of the riverboat admission tax, which, in part, supports breed development programs in the state. Purdue's veterinary school receives $150,000 annually from the wagering tax for equine health studies and the Equine Sports Medicine Center.
Indiana lawmakers also established the Livestock Promotion and Development Fund with revenues from a tax at satellite pari-mutuel wagering facilities in the state. The competitive grant program, administered by the Office of the Commissioner of Agriculture, promotes development and improvement of the livestock industry. Funds may be used to support livestock sales, shows and conventions and to expand new or existing markets. The Hoosier Horse Fair and the equine impact survey are partially funded by these grants.
Down the road
Russell and Brady have developed a five-year plan to utilize advances in technology to provide a new wave of Extension programming for equine and companion animal owners. "There's a real demand for Extension programming," Russell says. "We hope to use distance education even more in the future."
The measurement of this need may well come in the results of the equine survey. There's a buzz among those in the horse industry that the results will confirm what they've suspected all along--that there are a lot more than 140,000 horses in Indiana. "If the number comes in lower than that," Gann speculates, "I'll have to leave town."
|
