Not according to the New York Times. Behold the racehorse tax:
The trouble begins at the beginning. Far too many racehorses are bred each year simply because they are regarded as disposable once their short racing careers are done. The racing industry needs to make an enduring commitment to these animals, one expensive enough to help curtail the overproduction of foals.
A fee needs to be extracted at every level of racing — from breeders and owners as well as from bettors — to pay for the retirement of the very horses the sport depends on. (The same idea should be applied to the quarter horse world as well.) So far, efforts to do so have been voluntary and paltry at best. The Jockey Club, which maintains the thoroughbred registry, has instituted a voluntary checkoff program. The New York Racing Association has a voluntary $2 starting fee.
There is no national racing body to impose retirement fees, and the industry has made it clear over the years that it must be forced to regulate itself effectively. In the end, a small tax on the entertainment of betting on horse races will almost certainly need to be imposed by Congress. After all, the Jockey Club has a foundation to provide for needy members of the thoroughbred industry. Surely, it is not asking too much to create a nationwide fund for needy thoroughbreds themselves.