A study conducted for the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission finds the state’s horse racing industry needs to make some changes to stay viable.

The IRGC requested the study in November of 2023 to get an outside look at the industry as a way to chart its future. Racing and Gaming Administrator Tina Eick says the conclusion of the study doesn’t leave any doubt. “The study did make clear that, frankly, the status quo for quarter horse and thoroughbred horse racing in Iowa is not a good option. The report concluded that the current product in Iowa is not competitive and not of high interest to the public,” she says.

Eick says horse racing is like other forms of entertainment as it faces a lot of competition. “Forty years ago, horse racing and greyhound racing was all there was when it came to gambling in the state. Now there’s numerous ways for the public to gamble in Iowa and around the country,” Eick says.

The horse racing study presents several options to improve the Iowa system. “That would include a change to the current system, where purses are subsidized by the gaming revenue at the casino, and instead tie it to handle and simulcast earnings at the track. That change would give everyone, I guess, more skin in the game,” she says.

Eick says the report recommends expanding the reach of the industry. “Another suggestion would be to look at creating a racing circuit with neighboring states or straight or states in the area, like Oklahoma or Minnesota. And again, that would be to create more interest and give Iowa horses more places to run,” Eick says. There are also suggestions for expanding the options for bettors. “Increasing field size for each race to again, increase interest from the betting public, and then finally, also looking at some alternatives for dates times and the number of days for when to schedule races,”Eick says.

Eick says the report lays out some of the options and it now requires action from the horse racing organizations. “The study, again, was to try to come up with some solutions, but all of that would need to be collaborative, and it’s not something that the Commission could do itself,” Eick says.

Racing and Gaming Commission Chair Daryl Olsen of Adubon says he likes the proposal put forth in the study, but also says everyone has to embrace them to make them work. “We can’t dictate any of the things that the study suggests. All we can say is, here’s a study, we encourage all parties to work together to try find the best answer,” Olsen says. Olsen says the future of the horse industry in Iowa depends on making changes. “Because I think the study was very clear, saying, if we do nothing, you know, that’s a bad option,” he says.

Olsen says the study took a thorough look at the industry and gives them a way to move forward. “You know, if there was a really, really easy fix, I think we’d all have already jumped on it and say, ‘Hey, let’s do that.’ I mean, I think there isn’t an easy fix,” Olsen says.

The horse racing organizations have had some disagreements in the past, but Olsen says he is confident they will work together to make changes. “I really expect that they’re going to sit down and they’re going to say, there’s no sense squabbling over this, there’s no sense arguing over it, we need to look at it and see how we can implement some of these suggestions so we can make it better for everybody involved. So I am very, very optimistic,” he says.

Horse racing began at Prairie Meadows in Altoona in March of 1989. The track was granted a casino license in April of 1995.