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NCHA Receives Final Payment from Texas Major Event Trust Fund

nchalogoThe National Cutting Horse Association, in partnership with the City of Fort Worth, received $2.1 million from the Texas Major Events Trust Fund on Sept. 25. The payment includes funds derived from the 2012 NCHA Futurity. The funds are the final payment of more than $4.1 million received from the METF for the 2012 NCHA Triple Crown events.

“NCHA and the City of Fort Worth had a very productive meeting with the State Comptrollers office September 23 in the association’s continuing efforts to meet all requirements of the Texas Major Events Trust Fund,” said NCHA Executive Director Jim Bret Campbell. “Through the process of the last year, NCHA is grateful that it has been instrumental in changing legislation that will ensure even greater accountability for all groups applying to the Major Events Trust Fund.

“It is undeniable that enhancing the purses at the Triple Crown events has had a positive affect on the value of the cutting horse throughout the country,” he said. “Much like the Kentucky Derby drives the sales of Thoroughbreds, the NCHA Triple Crown provides for an economic incentive that drives the value of the cutting horse.”

Campbell also noted that a portion of the funds can be used to promote the Triple Crown events and encourage attendance by out-of-state visitors.

“NCHA’s participation in the fund is a partnership with the City of Fort Worth and the State of Texas, which means NCHA has a responsibility to honor its commitment by finding new and innovative ways to market and expand its events with the goal of bringing large groups to the state and city.”

The NCHA’s Triple Crown – the NCHA Futurity, the NCHA Super Stakes and the Great American Insurance Group Summer Cutting Spectacular – are the only equine events included in the Texas Major Events Trust Fund (METF). Other events in the fund are Formula One Racing, which earned $29.3 million and the NCAA Final Four Men’s Basketball Tournament, which earned more than $11 million.

Other equine groups are included in the Texas Events Trust Fund (ETF), which operates under a different reporting period, and includes such entities as the American Paint Horse Association, the American Miniature Horse Association, the Reichert Celebration, the National Reined Cow Horse Association and the American Quarter Horse Association.