When President Joe Biden made the case for a nearly $200 billion pandemic aid package to help states dodge budget cuts and layoffs, quarter-horse racing never came up.
Yet, Arizona is now using a portion of its aid to boost purses at three of its horse tracks. Alaska is paying social-media influencers to promote the state’s famous seafood. And North Carolina is funding improvements to a speedway for Nascar races and building new walking trails dedicated to the history of moonshine.
