Our industry's labor intensive. Machines cannot train, breed, feed, exercise or care for horses. Our business requires land, and so we've preserved green space in many states, in many communities. And make no mistake, the Thoroughbred foal crop of 35,000 or so each year, and all of the associated businesses that try to help determine whether one of them will be the next Secretariat, they all rely in one form or another on pari-mutuel wagering to be in business at all. Pari-mutuel racing funds purses.
Purses pay owners.
Not enough to cover most owners operating expenses, but some significant cost recovery. Owners in turn pay for many others. Not only the high profile trainers and jockeys that you read about on the sports pages, but the grooms, hot-walkers, feed company, their vets, and many others. All operating costs, including very expensive physical plants, considerable costs of maintaining their barns, employees, property taxes, insurance, and so forth. In our written submission there's a section on the early history of horse racing in the United States.