Frosh Rep Says ‘Neigh’ to Race Track

Saratoga Race Course has been denied. Well, at least it would have been if freshman Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) had had his way. Chaffetz is fed up with all the “fluff” bills that Congress votes on every week—bills like those honoring National Pollinator Week, National Dairy Month, and National Train Day, just to name a few. He decided to put his hoof foot down last week when a bill “memorializing” the start of the 142nd season of New York’s Saratoga Race Course came up for a vote.

According to the Associated Press, Chaffetz got on his, ahem, high horse out of concern that any kids in the visitors’ gallery who might later be asked if Congress had discussed important matters like wars or the national debt would be forced to reply, “Oh no, they were honoring a race course.”

We have to say we’re with Rep. Chaffetz on this one. But if we have to pick something or someone to memorialize, we should choose to honor the thousands of horses who’ve lost their lives at Saratoga and other tracks over the past 142 years.

Written by Alisa Mullins