Giltner letter: Horse racing

I live in a small community with a fairgrounds and race track that is a centerpiece. I understand how the people of Boise feel about the closure of Les Bois Park when over 4,000 attend the races in one day. These are only two examples of many programs lost by the closing of racing in our state. This has caused huge economic, social, personal and community losses. Many of my friends and neighbors have suffered large losses in income and value with the loss to the horse industry in our community. Many have had to go out of state, lay off employees and split up their families to survive.

All this is so unnecessary. Historic racing is tiny when compared to Indian gaming, the lottery, internet gaming or the amount of money driving right by my door going to Jackpot, Nev. The huge expansion, currently underway, of the Fort Hall Casino was never questioned. Why are the citizens, communities and youth of this state being singled out by the legislature and punished so hard? Our governor understands and expresses it very well when he says, “There’s got to be an element of fairness.”

This story was originally published March 6, 2017 at 6:01 PM with the headline "Giltner letter: Horse racing."