While bettors will be spending big on the thoroughbreds racing to win Saturday's 139th Kentucky Derby, many of the horses' owners have been making their own high-stakes bets — the kind that could pay off in much more than roses.
Continue readingKentucky Derby: Owners put money on politicians, not ponies
The real money in the Kentucky Derby isn't in the purse or the pari-mutuel, but in the politics. Horse-focused PACs like the American Horse Council, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association and horse breeders and owners have contributed more than $8.7 million to political candidates and parties since 1989 and spent $2.2 million more lobbying. And some of the top donors to these organizations are mega-donors in their own right, having contributed millions more to politicians, parties, PACs and super PACs.
Far from the finish line, the industry jockeys for tax breaks and other special treatment for big ...
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