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Happy New Year? Not for Texas thoroughbred racing, at least not according to the betting numbers that came out of the first weekend of Sam Houston Race Park’s thirtieth season. The Houston track opened its three-month, 43-date thoroughbred meet on January 6, with a total betting handle of $131,419, according to Equibase, a website that compiles nationwide racetrack data. (Handle refers to the amount wagered on the park’s races, as opposed to the track’s winnings or profits.) Last year’s opening day produced a handle of $3,332,147.Betting numbers fell so dramatically this year because last summer, the Texas Racing Commission prohibited state racetracks from exporting their thoroughbred simulcast signals to betting venues in other states. That’s how tracks across the country collect the vast majority of…

The post A Regulatory Feud Threatens to End Thoroughbred Racing in Texas appeared first on Texas Monthly.

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