Columbus, OH – In Thursday’s (Oct. 27) Paulick Report story “HISA Has Released A $72 Million 2023 Budget; What Happens Now?” Natalie Voss reports on “the sticker shock” from Thoroughbred officials and horsemen about the projected 2023 budget of more than $72 million and the resulting estimated per-start fees at individual racetracks.

Voss reports, “In the week and a half since the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority released its 2023 cost assessments to racing states, we’ve heard a lot about sticker shock from officials and horsemen – and a great deal of confusion.

The overall budget for Authority operations in 2023 is projected to be just over $72 million. That includes both the cost of the track safety program that was launched this year, in addition to the anti-doping and medication control portion, which is slated to start Jan. 1, 2023.

What startled many regulators last week was a document that showed an estimated per-start cost of the program, broken down by racetrack. The per-start costs varied widely and ranged from $85.54 (Los Alamitos ‘Thoroughbred meet) to as high as $1,057.22 (Kentucky Downs).”

To see the track-by-track breakdown of estimated per-start fees and read the complete story in Paulick Report, click here.