Racetracks, horse owners said to be eligible for PPP loans

President Donald Trump signed into law Friday an emergency aid package providing additional relief to small businesses and health care facilities, and the Small Business Administration released updated guidance that will assist the horse industry.

The new law provides $310 billion to replenish the Paycheck Protection Program for small businesses, which was oversubscribed. The additional appropriation will allow financial institutions to make additional forgivable loans to eligible small businesses in order to keep employees on the payroll for eight weeks.

The new law also includes $60 billion in loans and grants for a separate Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, and makes farms and ranches eligible for the loans. Farms with 500 or fewer employees whose primary activity is breeding horses are now eligible to apply; according to a news release from the Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, horse ownership entities should also be eligible.

Separately, the Treasury and SBA released updated interim final rules that contain a key clarification that will provide essential relief to racetracks and other businesses who rely on gambling income and otherwise qualify for an SBA loan. Under the new rules, businesses that receive legal gambling income are eligible to apply for this loan forgiveness program.

The NTRA has been lobbying the SBA for this updated guidance for several weeks.

"We thank the SBA and our allies on the Hill for providing clarification that will allow broader participation in the PPP and EIDL loan programs by racetracks, farms and others in our industry who have been negatively impacted by the coronavirus pandemic," said NTRA President and CEO Alex Waldrop.

NTRA partner Dean Dorton, one of the nation’s leading experts on equine tax matters, has posted an update on its Covid-19 microsite at NTRA.com that outlines all of these new provisions that will positively impact horse racing and breeding. That PowerPoint can be found here.