Fisher: Purse Deal Will Preserve More Than Just Horse Racing

FISHER: PURSE DEAL WILL PRESERVE
MORE THAN JUST HORSE RACING
Assembly Agriculture Committee Chair Says $90 Million Agreement
Will Protect Open Space, Horse Breeding Farms

(BRIDGETON) - Assemblyman Douglas H. Fisher, chairman of the Assembly Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, said the effects of yesterday's three-year $90 million agreement between casino operators and the state's horse-racing industry to supplement purses not only will preserve racing in New Jersey but farms and open space, as well.

"This agreement does more than protect racing purses, it maintains an integral part of our state's agricultural heritage," said Fisher (D-Cumberland/Gloucester/Salem). "We now have a means of protecting horse breeding and boarding operations across the state. Simply put, you can't have horse racing without horses."

Under the agreement announced last night by Governor Jon Corzine, Atlantic City's casinos will provide $90 million over the next three years to enhance racing purses and support horse-breeding operations.

Fisher said the accord will help keep horse farms in New Jersey, protecting vital open space in rural areas from development.

"Without this deal, many breeders would have begun searching for greener pastures in other states," said Fisher, a longtime advocate of the state's equine industry. "Horse breeding and racing are New Jersey traditions that deserve to be protected and enhanced. Racing champions, not McMansions, are the only things that should be raised on our horse farms."

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