To Those in Support of the Indiana Horse Industry

[Roguelet]

Indiana Horse Racing & Breeding Coalition members and friends of the Indiana horse racing industry,

We are at a critical juncture in the shaping of alternative gaming legislation in this year's General Assembly session.

As you know, two bills in the Indiana House - HB 1569, authored by Rep. Luke Messer of Shelbyville, and HB 1702, authored by Rep. Mike Murphy,
Indianapolis - received a four-hour hearing last week in the House Public Policy Committee. Coalition representatives testified at the hearing, as well as representatives of Shelbyville and Anderson, and advocates for funding the new Colts stadium and Indianapolis Convention Center.

Currently, efforts are underway to merge the two bills. Behind-the-scenes negotiations are taking place to reconcile a variety of political and fiscal conflicts over the legislation. That makes it crucial that we redouble our efforts to contact legislators and remind them that this bill is a horse bill and it has a life or death effect on agribusiness, on our business, and on the businesses who depend on us back home.

We need alternative gaming, with a significant and fair proportion of revenue dedicated to the horse industry, if we are to survive and continue to make our contribution to our communities and the Indiana economy.

Accordingly, we need three actions from you: two, as soon as you can do them, and one on February 15th.

1.) Now, more than ever before, we need you to contact your state representative and make sure he or she knows how important this is to you. Please don't count on someone else to take care of this. We need you.

2.) After you've called or written your state representative, make sure other horsemen and women are informed. If each of us calls two or three others in the industry, shares this information with them, and asks them to do the same thing, we can reach all over Indiana. That's what it will take.

3.) The Coalition has scheduled an Indiana Horsemen's Day at the Legislature, for February 15. Many of you participated last year when we came to Indianapolis, met with our legislators and demonstrated a presence at the statehouse.

This year we will be at the downtown Hilton (which was the Adams Mark, last year) at the corner of Illinois and Market Streets, in Indianapolis. We will meet for lunch at 11:15, hear from lobbyists and Coalition representatives, then walk one block to the statehouse to meet with our individual state representatives. This is our opportunity to make our case, in person, and as an industry.

Please plan to be there and make our voices heard!

For more information, contact your breed association, or Mike Brown (mrb@executivemedia.com) or Lisa Thibault (lisa@executivemedia.com) at 317-231-7000.