COVID-19 Kentucky Equine Business Impact Survey is Currently Underway

by wglasscock | May 4, 2020 | News

The survey is a collaboration between KEEP and the University of Louisville Equine Industry Program

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Monday, May 4, 2020) – The Kentucky Equine Education Project (KEEP) and the University of Louisville (UofL) Equine Industry Program jointly announced the release of the COVID-19 Kentucky Equine Business Impact Survey. The survey will be shared with employers throughout Kentucky’s horse industry and community to capture the effects of the pandemic on the Commonwealth’s signature industry.

This initiative will leverage KEEP’s relationships and trust throughout all levels and disciplines of Kentucky’s horse industry and the UofL Equine Industry Program’s expertise in the economics of the industry. The results of the survey will be shared with lawmakers at both the state and federal level to assist them in making policies that meet the needs of the industry.

Survey participants will not be identified in the published results.

Elisabeth Jensen, KEEP’s Executive Vice President who oversees the daily operations of the organization, commented, “Kentucky’s horse industry has 35,000 individual operations. These businesses provide nearly 80,000 jobs in Kentucky and have a $3.4 billion economic impact on the state – and that does not include tourism generated by the industry. It is critically important that employers across the industry participate in the COVID-19 Kentucky Equine Business Impact Survey to provide an accurate depiction of the effects of the pandemic on the industry and how the governmental responses so far have helped or have failed to help these businesses.”

“We are proud to be partnering with KEEP in developing this important survey,” said Sean Beirne, Director of the Equine Industry Program. “COVID-19 is impacting every facet of the equine industry in the Commonwealth and our hope is to dissect this data to provide a thorough economic overview to governmental decision makers.”

The COVID-19 Kentucky Equine Business Impact Survey can be found here.

ABOUT KEEP
The Kentucky Equine Education Project, Kentucky’s equine economic advocate, is a not-for-profit grassroots organization created in 2004 to preserve, promote and protect Kentucky’s signature multi-breed horse industry. KEEP is committed to ensuring Kentucky remains the horse capital of the world, including educating Kentuckians and elected officials of the importance of the horse industry to the state. KEEP was the driving force in the establishment of the Kentucky Breeders Incentive Fund, which has paid out more than $177 million to Kentucky breeders since its inception in 2006, and pari-mutuel wagering on historical horse racing, which has been responsible for more than $40 million to purses and more than $24 million to the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund.

KEEP works to strengthen the horse economy in Kentucky through our statewide network of citizen advocates. To learn more about how you can become a member or support our work, please visit www.horseswork.com.

ABOUT THE EQUINE INDUSTRY PROGRAM, UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE
The Equine Industry Program is on the move and a leader in horse commerce, enterprise and academics. It was established in 1986 and is supported by KRS (Kentucky Revised Statute) 230.550. As one of only two AACSB-accredited equine programs in the world, the Equine Industry Program provides training and educational opportunities in the horse racing industry relating to, but not limited to, finance, management, marketing, regulation, and administrative aspects of the horse racing industry.

COVID-19 Kentucky Equine Business Impact Survey

by wglasscock | May 4, 2020 | News

KEEP and the University of Louisville Equine Industry Program have collaborated to survey Kentucky’s horse industry and community on the effects of COVID-19 in order to inform policy makers and industry stakeholders of the impacts of the pandemic on Kentucky’s signature industry. We need your help to understand the unique challenges the pandemic has created for the horse industry and community.

Kentucky’s horse industry consists of 35,000 individual operations. These businesses provide nearly 80,000 jobs and have a $3.4 billion economic impact on the state. It is critically important that employers across the industry participate in the survey in order to provide an accurate depiction of the effects of COVID-19 and the governmental responses to the pandemic.

The data and narrative gathered from the survey will be shared with lawmakers in Frankfort and Washington to help develop policies and assistance that meet the needs of our industry and community. We encourage you to not hold back and to be open about the impact that the pandemic has had on your business so that we have an accurate depiction of the current state of the industry. The published results of the survey will not identify the survey participants.