Live horse racing has long outlived its purpose in 1933 to generate gambling revenues

Wagering (betting) on live horse racing was made legal by California voters in 1933, 50+ years before they authorized the CA Lottery, and Native American gaming became legal in CA. These two gambling opportunities have boomed, while gambling on live horse racing has continued to decline, completely eclipsed.

In the most recent Annual Report of the California Horse Racing Board, $2.69 Billion was wagered by fans of California racing between July 1, 2024 and June 30, 2025 (down from $2.8 Billion the prior year), at only 2 year-round tracks and a handful of Fairground tracks running a few months annually. (Now down to 2 year-round tracks and 1 Fairground track.)

During fiscal year 2024-25, the California Lottery recorded nearly $9 billion in sales, resulting in a contribution of more than $1.9 billion to school districts, educational institutions, and state agencies. This achievement represents the 25th consecutive year in which the Lottery has provided over $1 billion to these beneficiaries, with cumulative contributions surpassing $48 billion over the past four decades since the Lottery was established. The Lottery's network of over 23,000 retail partners across California played a crucial role in these sales figures, earning over $612.2 million in commissions and bonuses in FY 2024-25. 

Tribal gaming operations in California generated $8.5 billion in gross gaming revenue at 85 tribal casinos. Tribal gaming operations alone create over 63,000 direct jobs. 

Live horse racing has long outlived its purpose in 1933 to generate gambling revenues. Time to put it out of the horses' misery --25 reported dead by the California Horse Racing Board in less than 8 months of 2026 racing so far at only 3 racetracks left operating. 

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