Texas horse tracks remain open at least through February

Texas horse tracks will stay open — for now.

State officials had indicated they might have to close next week, if no additional state dollars were allocated. But now, as officials wait for court hearings that could decide the fate of historical racing, a controversial new way to gamble at tracks, they’ve given the go-ahead for tracks to stay open.

However, if no state money is allocated before the end of the month, the racing commission and tracks in Texas will have to close in a matter of weeks.

“Live and simulcast racing may continue until the close of business on February 29,” Texas Racing Commission Executive Director Chuck Trout wrote in a letter to Texas tracks Thursday.

“If the Commission does not receive additional appropriations or another solution is not found to continue agency operations beyond February 29, I believe that all racing must stop effective March 1, 2016.”

This is the latest development in a nearly two-year feud over historical racing between the commission and some Republican lawmakers who oppose plans to expand gambling in Texas.

Commissioners have supported allowing historical racing machines at Texas tracks since approving rules to allow that in 2014, but without state funding the agency will shut down — and horse tracks in Texas, including Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie — will have to stop all racing.

Texas tracks shut down briefly last year because of this funding squabble.

Money matters

When lawmakers approved the budget last year, they put in a “rider” giving the Legislative Budget Board — the board on which state budget writers, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Joe Straus serve — the sole decision on whether to allocate funding for salaries and other such services at the racing commission.

The board has allocated funding through the end of this month, but officials have indicated they won’t free up the money “until the agency repeals its rules allowing ... Historical Racing,” according to a lawsuit in the case.

As the ongoing debate over funding has continued, caught in the middle is a slumping racing industry made up of thousands of Texans who work as veterinarians, jockeys, grooms, breeders and more.

Live racing is scheduled to run April 7-July 17 at Lone Star Park, for the thoroughbred season. Some work to prepare for that season has stalled as officials wait to see what the racing commission would do.

Earlier this week, the Texas Racing Commission was to decide whether to repeal the historical racing rules or to begin the process of shutting down the agency, anticipating that state budget writers wouldn’t release the funds needed to stay open after March 1.

But the Texas Greyhound Association obtained a restraining order to keep the commission from voting on the issue. A hearing is scheduled in the case for 8:30 a.m. Feb. 18 in the 107th District Court in Cameron County.

Those in the horse industry say this gives the courts time to take up a separate lawsuit filed this year. An earlier lawsuit, scheduled for a hearing late this month, challenges how some funding is allocated by the budget board.

Historical, or instant, racing, involves replaying races on devices with sounds and symbols similar to slot machines. Unlike slots in traditional casinos, the payoff is tied to past race results. The devices have no information that could help players identify the winners in advance, such as horse names, dates and tracks.

This story was originally published February 11, 2016 at 12:03 PM with the headline "Texas horse tracks remain open at least through February."