Peter Weisberg has been involved in harness racing since working as a groom at Monticello Raceway as a teenager in the late 1970s and as a groom/assistant trainer for Mark Loewe in the 1980s (caretaker of 1988 Little Brown Jug runner-up Threefold). Now his participation is as an owner and an accountant for many of the sport’s top trainers and owners.
Weisberg, a CPA/CFP who races as PCW Racing LLC and counts 2024 Dan Patch Award-winning trotter Maryland and promising 2-year-old trotter Zephyr Kemp among the horses he co-owns, said legislation passed this year by Congress as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) contains key provisions that favorably impact horse owners, particularly those involved in breeding and racing.
He offered these thoughts regarding the legislation:
1. Bonus Depreciation
One of the most powerful provisions of OBBBA is the permanent extension of 100% bonus depreciation for qualifying assets — capital expenditures such as racehorses, breeding stock, barns, equipment, and related facilities. Under the prior Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), bonus depreciation was phasing out (40% in 2025, 20% in 2026, and gone by 2027). Thanks to OBBBA, investors in racehorses can now write off the full purchase cost immediately, retroactive to Jan. 20, 2025.
2. Net Operating Loss Carryover
The Bill also restored the net operating loss carryover allowing excess business losses to carryforward as a net operating loss. The net operating loss carryover can be applied against up to 80% of future taxable income each year and carries forward indefinitely until fully utilized.
3. Restored and Enhanced Business Interest Deduction
OBBBA restores a favorable method of calculating the business interest deduction by adding back depreciation rather than subtracting it. This helps equine businesses carry costs more efficiently when using debt financing and generally increase the amount of deductible interest expense. This is important for businesses that rely on debt financing for the high cost of capital investments.
Potential Trade-off: Impact on Betting
There’s a notable downside: starting in 2026, OBBBA limits the ability of bettors (including horseplayers) to deduct gambling losses — allowing only 90% of losses to be deductible (against winnings), down from 100%. This change may reduce betting activity, which could indirectly affect purse sizes and demand for horses. The National Thoroughbred Racing Association has expressed that “work remains to offset some losses by horseplayers,” and they plan to pursue legislative fixes.
Overall, this is a huge win for Standardbred and Thoroughbred owners and breeders and paves the way for reinvestment, modernization, and sustained growth across breeding, racing, and farm operations. This was reflected in the recent Saratoga Thoroughbred sale, which was up 22.6% from the previous record-setting year.