Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission at its August 25 meeting approved a $1.72 million marketing and promotional fund allocation for fiscal 2026-27.
The money, which supports a statewide marketing campaign as well as marketing endeavors by horsemen’s groups and breeders’ associations, is derived from 1% of the slot machine revenue that goes to the Pennsylvania Race Horse Development Trust Fund.
The Pennsylvania Horse Racing Association, which falls under the PHRC and handles the statewide program, was granted $861,754, or 50% of the total.
The Pennsylvania Harness Horsemen’s Association (Harrah’s Philadelphia Casino & Racetrack and Mohegan Pennsylvania at Pocono) received $194,015; the Meadows Standardbred Owners Association (Hollywood Casino at The Meadows) was allotted $114,199; and the Standardbred Breeders Association of Pennsylvania was granted $61,659.
Other grantees are the Pennsylvania Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association ($259,237), the Pennsylvania Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association ($150,648) and the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association ($81,997).
The PHRC also announced that it has hired Michael “Mickey” Peterson as Standardbred bureau director and Eric Smith as Thoroughbred bureau director.
Peterson, who has been involved in the harness racing industry for more than 40 years, began as a driver and trainer based at Pocono Downs in the mid-1980s. Since 2016 he has served as a judge in multiple jurisdictions and most recently served as state steward at Meadowlands.
“I’m very honored to be joining the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission and I look forward to getting started,” Peterson said, noting the importance of “maintaining the integrity and credibility of racing.”
Smith got interested in racing in Michigan in the early 2000s and eventually enrolled in the Racetrack Industry Program at the University of Arizona. He most recently served as senior state steward for the Indiana Horse Racing Commission at Horseshoe Indianapolis, which offers Thoroughbred racing, and is a member of an internal adjudication panel under the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority.
Barry Brown, director of racing operations at Harrah’s Philly, reported that the track will host a special evening program on Saturday, September 12, to celebrate the facility’s 20th anniversary. Brown said the Colonial Trot, which began at Liberty Bell Park and was held in the early years of Harrah’s Philly, will return as part of the anniversary program.