June 22, 2016 7:26 AM

More specifics revealed on budget losses to Texas Racing Commission

Documents show the gap in funding will be a combination of something between $91,000 and $700,000, which would be the combined amount the agency will need to carry it through the first quarter

New documents out of the Texas Racing Commission show just how dire the financial crisis is within the agency and how that pressure is affecting the racing industry across the state.

The commission passed – and was later forced to repeal – historical racing as an option for racetracks.

Last week, Vice Chair Ron Ederer informed his colleagues that dwindling fees would not be enough to carry the agency through the biennium. Late last week, the agency responded to a Texas Public Information Act request filed by Quorum Report and released the minutes of a Corpus Christi meeting where the deficit was discussed in stark detail.

The combined drop in fees will be a $717,500 hit to the agency budget, according to the minutes of the meeting, held at Gulf Coast Racing on May 23.

By Kimberly Reeves