Horse racing is getting a second wind thanks to a sizable assist from Washington. A little-noticed provision in a tax law signed by President Trump has helped turn thoroughbreds into a favored write-off for the wealthy, fueling a surge in prices and sales across an industry that not long ago looked wobbly, the New York Times reports. Under an expanded "bonus depreciation" rule added to the "One Big Beautiful Bill" after lobbying from the industry, buyers can immediately deduct the full cost of racehorses before they start training or racing. The rule also covers many older horses that previously didn't qualify, making it far easier for deep-pocketed investors to justify spending big.
The result: record auction totals, tighter supply, and a market increasingly dominated by the ultra-rich. North American racehorse purchases hit about $1.5 billion last year, with marquee sales at Keeneland and Fasig-Tipton posting their highest grosses in more than a decade. Owners and sales executives say the tax break, combined with stricter safety rules, new racetrack investments, and the Netflix reality series Race for the Crown, has helped the sport turn a corner. "This gives people who have money and enjoy racing an incentive to spend more money and reduce taxes," horse owner and accountant Len Green tells the Times. "It means people are buying more and moving money from one pocket to another."
But with foal numbers still well below past peaks, there are growing worries that the boom is concentrating the best bloodlines, and the biggest winnings, into fewer and fewer hands, the Times reports. After the Keeneland sale in September, Green told CNBC that there were more investors than in previous years, including younger buyers. "They can't buy baseball teams and they can't buy football teams, but they can buy pieces of horses and get their picture in the paper," he said.
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
