NEW ORLEANS, LA—OCTOBER 2, 2014—Pending legislation from a group of Quarter Horse owners, trainers and jockeys has forced the Fair Grounds to substantially reduce purses for the upcoming thoroughbred meet, including a 40 percent cut for the Louisiana Derby, according to track officials.

However the Louisiana Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association says they were not consulted by the track prior to the announcement. The group said the meet-opening overnight purse levels were calculated forecasting a 15 percent handle decline compared with the 2013-14 meet. The HBPA takes issue with that forecast, contending that improvements to the turf course and increased attention to customer service should produce, at worst, flat betting compared with last year.

In all stakes purses will be reduced by 30 percent and overnight purses by 17 percent, a total of $2.7 million, although some or all of the money could be restored if the lawsuit is adjudicated.

The lawsuit challenges the distribution of video poker proceeds dating back to 2008, a portion of which was to go towards quarter horse purses. The Louisiana Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association also is a defendant in the case.

By regulatory mandate, the current purse structure is a compilation of the projected handle generated during the race meet and annual off-track betting racing activities, plus annual purse supplements from local slots and video poker operations. The possibility of the quarter horse group winning the suit is factored into the equation.

At present, overnight purses are expected to decline from approximately $223,000 to $186,000 or $37,000 per day while stakes purses will be reduced by more $2 million, including the $400,000 hit on the Louisiana Derby, which has been a $1 million Grade II race for several years.

Fair Grounds president Tim Bryant said the track planned to reach out to the HBPA.

“Immediately after receiving the letter of concerns, we contacted them to schedule a face-to-face meeting,” Bryant said in an e-mail. “We are confident we will come to something that will be agreeable to everyone.”

Both Fair Grounds and HBPA officials have said that the purse reductions have nothing to do with the reported effort by Churchill Downs Inc., the track’s parent company, to sell the facility plus its 11 off-track betting facilities.

The 143rd thoroughbred season at the Fair Grounds opens Nov. 21 and runs though March 29.