EMMETT, ID—APRIL 20, 2018—In an article by Del Gray published this week on Idaho Press Tribune website Clayton Russell, Vice President for Racing for the Idaho Quarter Horse Association, said a signature petition drive that has until April 30 to reach its goal may be the last hope to restore an element of financial support to the horse racing industry in Idaho.

Through Save Idaho Horse Racing, a collective group of several different horse racing entities in the state, they are committed to seeing if they can take the measure directly to the voters this fall.

Save Idaho Horse Racing banded together to launch a signature petition drive that has until April 30 to reach a needed goal of more than 56,000 signatures. Though petitions have been around the state since February, they are still shy of their goal.

The group is calling for an initiative authorizing historical horse racing at certain locations in the state where live or simulcast horse racing occurs and allocating revenue therefrom.

They want to restore the financial support to the state’s racing industry that was taken away by the Idaho legislature three years ago.

“We’re hoping this will at least get it in front of the people,” Russell said. “Without it I think horse racing is dead in Idaho. There is just not enough revenue otherwise to support the purses needed to make a healthy industry viable.”

Russell told the Idaho Press Tribune that pari-mutuel betting that had always been a significant element of racing had been eroded for years with the State’s authorization of the Lottery and the expansion of Indian Gaming in Idaho.

The creation of Historical Horse Racing (HHR) several years ago restored a small but vital portion of financial support to the industry. While the HHR terminals operate under the very same ratios and payout formulas that live pari-mutuel racing utilize, opponents have equated them with casino slot machines.

That characterization of the terminals was cited by many legislators in their decision to vote to ban them in Idaho in 2015. A heavy lobbying effort by traditional out of state gambling corporations, who in many cases manage the Indian gaming in the state, appeared too great a force for Idaho horse racing entities to battle in the legislature.

A veto of the “Historical Horse Racing” repeal by then Idaho Gov. Butch Otter, was ordered invalid on a technicality by Idaho's Supreme Court.

Save Idaho Horse Racing wants to by-pass the legislature and go directly to the citizens of the State.

In a recent study by Boise State University, it was determined that the racing industry in Idaho, with this initiative in place, will bring back and create hundreds of jobs and contribute $50 million in annual impact on the economy.

Les Bois Park was forced to cease operating the HHR terminals in 2015 the track was forced to close, and 285 jobs were lost.

If the minimum number of verified petition signatures is obtained by April 30, then a simple majority vote of Idahoans at the polls in the November General Election would return this revenue tool to an otherwise struggling industry.

An approval of the initiative would not mean that racing terminals would be appearing at all tracks in the state. The initiative is specific on the limited locations and the length of the racing seasons at HHR equipped facilities.

However, smaller tracks in the state would benefit greatly. A significant portion of the purses and operating expenses of the limited racing seasons at smaller racetracks come from a revenue sharing formula that the Idaho Horse Racing Commission implemented to subsidize small tracks.

Petition gatherers, often wearing bright green Save Idaho Horse Racing shirts, have been at various locations around the state. Anyone in Idaho who wants one to circulate a petition can contact Russell at 208-866-8019.