ST. PAUL — Minnesota lawmakers were introduced to a bill on April 14 that would allocate tax revenue from electronic pull tabs to the state’s thoroughbred horse racing industry.
Rep. Jeff Witte, R-Lakeville, proposed the bill in an informational hearing to the House State Government Finance and Policy Committee as a response to the national growth of sports betting. The committee did not vote on the measure.
Starting in 2027, Witte’s bill would dedicate $2 million in electronic pull tab tax revenue to the Minnesota Racing Commission.
The $2 million would augment race purses, the money won by competitors, and encourage Minnesota thoroughbred breeders and owners to continue to participate in the "Sport of Kings."
Electronic pull tabs are a form of charitable gambling that support nonprofits and generate tax revenue for the state.
“This industry is facing a difficult future,” Witte said. “We need to meet that moment and support the racing industry.”
Witte said that other states are using money from legalized sports betting to bolster purses, giving their horse racing tracks an advantage over Minnesota’s.
In 2018, the Supreme Court gave states the authority to establish their own sports gambling legislation. Now, 39 states have legalized sports betting to some degree, according to CBS Sports. Minnesota is not one of them.
Several attempts to legalize sports betting in Minnesota have failed over the past few years due to concerns from horse race tracks and Indigenous tribes, which have exclusive rights to operate casinos in the state.
In 2024, the Minnesota Racing Commission issued 4,045 licenses to people working at the state’s two tracks, Canterbury Park and Running Aces Harness Park. Anyone who works in any capacity at the tracks must be licensed.
Tax dollars allocated toward the horse racing industry would support thoroughbred owners and breeders, not directly support workforce expansion in the industry, according to the proposed legislation.
Justin Revak, president of the Minnesota Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, said that an increase in cost of horse racing, decreasing revenue and restricted sources of funding for race purses are encouraging horse owners to leave Minnesota for the chance for bigger wins elsewhere.
Canterbury Park, the larger of the state’s two horse race tracks located in Shakopee, is already feeling that pressure, Revak said.
“Losing more money each year can only last so long, and the thoroughbred racing will come to an end without new streams of purse revenue,” Revak said. “Owners will either stop sending their horses to Canterbury or get out of the game altogether.”
Sally Mixon, who works at Canterbury Park, said that a loss of revenue at race tracks poses a greater risk to employees like her than to wealthy horse owners.
“Not every track is like Churchill Downs on Kentucky Derby Day,” Mixon said. “The people that are most affected when the racing industry starts to deplete is the backsider. It’s the people that are up at 4:30 in the morning.”
Some committee members said they were not convinced that Witte’s bill was the best use of tax revenue from gambling or the best way to support the state’s horse race tracks.
“I don’t believe in going into venues that take my money, but that’s just me,” said Rep. Ginny Klevorn, DFL-Plymouth. “So I do think that we need to be creative and look for avenues to both support the agricultural economy, the backsiders and that continued economic development in Shakopee.”
Report for Minnesota is a project of the University of Minnesota’s Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication to support local news across the state.
