Pennsylvania’s new residency requirements—key to a better future?
You’ve got to pay to play. That’s the message behind the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association’s new requirements for Pennsylvania-bred registration.
(Rules are listed in their entirety on page 95.)

Purses and breeding fund awards are expected to skyrocket when slots are in full operation at Pennsylvania tracks. And the transformation will begin soon—as early as next month at Philadelphia Park.

Pennsylvania’s horse industry didn’t labor over the passage of slots legislation, and then wait an additional two and a half years for slots to become a reality, in order to see its newfound prosperity siphoned off to breeders in other states.

From now on, to participate in Pennsylvania’s breeding program, broodmare owners must be prepared to keep their stock within that state for a lengthy period of time (for foals of 2008, the mare must reside in the state from October 1 through foaling or, alternatively, remain in the state for at least 90 days after foaling, during which time she is bred back to a Pennsylvania stallion).

The PHBA has announced plans to “establish a field operation to conduct random, periodic visits to farms to ensure compliance with the new eligibility parameters, based upon information submitted by mare owners.”
 
All of this will make Pennsylvania’s breeding fund one of the most restrictive programs of its kind in the nation. Which is exactly the intent, explained PHBA president Peter Giangiulio: “There’s plenty of money,” said Giangiulio. “But to participate in our program, breeders are going to have to make a significant commitment to this state. It’s not going to be Kentucky mares foaling in Pennsylvania.”

The redesigned program aims to direct business toward Pennsylvania farms, which will then expand and upgrade their facilities, enabling them to attract an even better class of mares. As the overall quality of mares rises within the state, it is hoped that Pennsylvania will attract higher-caliber stallions. The economy, in effect, could improve for everyone who makes a livelihood within Pennsylvania’s breeding industry—just as the state legislature and Governor Ed Rendell had in mind when giving their blessing to the legislation that enables as many as 61,000 slot machines within the state.
 
However, like nearly everything else in life, the new restrictions are a gamble. An alternate possibility is that Pennsylvania’s breeding industry will become an island unto itself, with farms churning out PA-breds unable to compete in open company—even at tracks within their home state, once higher purses begin attracting higher caliber runners.

The PHBA has acted responsibly, by taking a decisive stand and pursuing what it believes to be the best approach for its members—a majority of whom, in response to a questionnaire, expressed support for the changes.

Announcement of revisions in Pennsylvania’s breeding program brings home the point—once slots arrive, lots of things will change for horsepeople in the Keystone State.