By T. D. Thornton
The Texas Racing Commission announced Thursday that the state's Legislative Budget Board has authorized long-awaited funding for the agency, thus lifting the commission's standing warning that horse and greyhound racing in the state would have to cease at the end of February.
The allocation of funding comes in the wake of last week's vote by the commission to repeal historic-race gaming rules, which had been on the books since 2014 but had never resulted in the actual installation or operation of the machines at any of the state's tracks.
The rules had, however, created a rift between the commission and legislators who opposed the gaming. Seemingly in retaliation, lawmakers since late last year had withheld funding for the commission to operate.
“This means that we are now fully funded for the remainder of the biennium, which extends through August 31, 2017,” Robert Elrod, the commission's public information officer, wrote in an email.
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