Now that 2004 has come to a close, many horsemen will be finding themselves trying to collect all of their racing activity receipts and prepare their tax returns. Keep in mind that you can now access your Texas racing activity by computer and see all of your purses earned, jockey fees, and photo transactions at all Texas racetracks. To make it more convenient, you will see all that activity consolidated in one statement, and you can even combine activity in some other racing jurisdictions, as well.

In order to view your account information, you will need to get a password issued to your horseman’s account. You can call the Austin office of the Texas Horsemen's Partnership at (512) 467-9799 and ask to speak with a bookkeeper to get one. Once your password is issued, you can access your information and begin setting up your account to manage your information.

Currently, the Texas Horsemen's Partnership is also working with other racetracks and horsemen’s organizations to share information so that you can see all your racing activity in other states. At the present time, Louisiana has its information available, and other states and tracks are coming online each week.

“We are proud of the advances that we have made to our horsemen’s bookkeeping system with the help of Incompass Solutions, which a subsidiary of the Jockey Club in Lexington, Kentucky,” stated Marsha Rountree, Controller of the Texas Horsemen's Partnership. She continued, “This has been a work in progress for the past seven years, and we just keep making improvements based on the input and requests that we get from our horsemen.”

IRS Form 1099s Mailing in January

Internal Revenue Service 1099 forms will be mailed to all account holders in January. However, all horsemen should note that these forms, by law, must show the gross amount earned during your racing activity. It is up to each taxpayer to itemize deductions from those earnings, such as jockey fees and other expenses associated with your earnings as allowed by law.

If you have questions about your horsemen’s account or need assistance in setting up your online access, please call the Texas Horsemen's Partnership office, and we will happy to assist you.