For Immediate Release

6/2/2021

Media contact: Susan Spicka sspicka@educationvoterspa.org

The Kentucky Derby doping scandal and the May raid on the Parx Casino race track point to a gaming industry rife with misconduct and desperate for a complete overhaul.

HARRISBURG, PA – June 2, 2021

Education Voters of Pennsylvania is a nonprofit organization supporting quality public education from pre-k through college. Education Voters monitors Pennsylvania’s Race Horse Development Fund, which provides an average of $240 million annually to the Commonwealth’s six racetracks.

Susan Spicka, Executive Director, issued the following statement addressing the second positive post-race drug test of Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit.

“The Kentucky Derby doping scandal and the May raid on the Parx Casino race track point to a gaming industry rife with misconduct and desperate for a complete overhaul.

“The problem is so acute that the industry’s biggest boosters fought for and secured passage of a bill that will create a national oversight system in the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.  These events confirm the need to root out the deep-seated corruption in the industry – which is driven in part by the high purses that are enabled by state racing subsidies.

“Public funds should no longer be used to prop up an industry that has lost public confidence. The General Assembly must begin taking steps to end the Race Horse Development Fund and reallocate these tax dollars to institutions and programs that Pennsylvanians can trust.”

To learn more about Pennsylvania’s Race Horse Development Fund visit www.kidsoverhorseracing.org 

###