Hanson letter: Horse racing

Roy Lacey may have been a lot of things in the past — owner of Roy’s Western Wear — who used horsemen to keep his business afloat in Pocatello, but a full-time professional horse trainer he was not.

Lacey is so far removed from reality of this business, he is not one that should be discussing what horse racing needs. He failed to conduct his due diligence when this issue first surfaced, failed to speak with any full-time professional horse trainers when he wrote his fictional article regarding horse racing, and any reference to his credibility in knowing what the horse racing industry needs to stay afloat is sorely misplaced. Because you own a horse, sell equipment and may even try to enter and run it in a race does not make you a professional. Many people have a fantasy football team but they aren’t the ones making decisions on how the NFL should move forward.

Let’s look at the economic impacts in communities that have full-time viable horse racing thanks to historical racing: gas stations, restaurants, RV parks, hotels, feed stores, farmers, the Cal Ranches, D& B Supplies, farriers, etc. Then you can talk about how horse racing can help entire communities. We need historical racing to supplement purses — like the lottery supplements education.

This story was originally published February 13, 2016 at 11:55 PM with the headline "Hanson letter: Horse racing."