Horse owners, tracks eligible for PPP loans under new federal guidance

Posted: April 24, 2020

The Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association is pleased to announce that the Small Business Administration April 24 issued new guidance clarifying that racetracks and small entities such as horse ownership entities are eligible for loans under the Paycheck Protection Loan Program.

The new guidance is as follows:

“d. Part III.2.b. of the Third PPP Interim Final Rule (85 FR 21747, 21751) is revised to read as follows:

Are businesses that receive revenue from legal gaming eligible for a PPP Loan? A business that is otherwise eligible for a PPP Loan is not rendered ineligible due to its receipt of legal gaming revenues, and 13 CFR 120.110(g) is inapplicable to PPP loans. Businesses that received illegal gaming revenue remain categorically ineligible. On further consideration, the Administrator, in consultation with the Secretary, believes this approach is more consistent with the policy aim of making PPP loans available to a broad segment of U.S. businesses.”

This guidance makes clear that while the exclusion for entities that receive revenue from legal gambling activities does not apply, the entity must still satisfy the other loan requirements.

We are grateful to the National Thoroughbred Racing Association and THA representatives on Capitol Hill for getting this done.

The application for the Paycheck Protection Program is available here.

The Paycheck Protection Program is part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act that passed Congress in March. Similar legislation signed into law April 24 provides another $310 billion for the PPP on top of the original $349 billion.

The new legislation also provides another $60 billion for the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program. The THA and NTRA were successful in getting a restriction on agricultural enterprises—breeding farms with 500 or fewer employees, for example—removed from the program language.

Further information on the EIDL program is available via the U.S. Small Business Association and individual lending companies.