Racing's Lobbying Win Ends Russell Group's Run with NTRA

Why It Matters

The National Thoroughbred Racing Association has filed an LDA termination ending its lobbying relationship with Russell Group, capping a multi-year engagement that coincided with one of the industry's most significant federal legislative victories in recent memory.

The LDA termination is notable in context: Russell Group simultaneously lost Novozymes North America Inc., another $50,000-per-quarter client, in the same first quarter 2026 filing cycle. That's $100,000 in terminated fees disclosed in a single quarter for a firm that otherwise had four active client relationships generating $150,000 in ongoing work during the same period.

The NTRA's Broader Lobbying Footprint

The NTRA doesn't rely on a single firm. In 2024, the association spent approximately $1.4 million across five lobbying arrangements — four outside firms and one in-house operation. Its full roster included:

Russell Group was one of four outside firms the NTRA retained simultaneously. The data does not show the NTRA replacing Russell Group with a new firm following this lobbying registration ended filing.

The Bottom Line

The NTRA paid $50,000 per quarter throughout 2024 or $200,000 for the year — making it one of several similarly sized clients at the firm. That's not a flagship account. In the first quarter 2026, Russell Group's disclosed client roster totaled $1,535,000 in lobbying revenue across 25 clients, with TriNet Group Inc. alone accounting for $570,000 — roughly 37 percent of the firm's quarterly revenue. The NTRA's $50,000 termination filing represents a comparatively modest slice of that portfolio.

Broader Context

The Legislative Win That Changed the Calculus

The timing of this terminated lobbying disclosure tracks closely with the NTRA's biggest federal win in years. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, passed by Congress in mid-2025, made 100 percent bonus depreciation permanent — a provision that directly benefits Thoroughbred breeders, owners, and racetracks who depreciate yearlings, racehorses, broodmares, stallions, farm equipment, and related property. As BloodHorse reported, the provision was made retroactive to January 20, 2025, reversing a phase-out schedule that would have dropped the benefit to 40 percent in 2025, 20 percent in 2026, and zero by 2027.

The NTRA's termination date on the Russell Group engagement was June 29, 2025 — just days before the association publicly celebrated the bill's passage on July 3, 2025. The lobbying registration ended filing was submitted April 4, 2026.

Tax policy was central to what Russell Group was doing for the NTRA. In 2024, the firm's lobbyists — Tyson Redpath, Sam Buchalter, and Randy Russell — worked on general horse racing tax issues and specifically on H.R. 2926, the Race Horse Cost Recovery Act, alongside agricultural appropriations matters including H.R. 9027, the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act.

What's Still Moving on the Hill

Not everything on the NTRA's agenda has been resolved. Two bills addressing racehorse health and safety remain at the introduced stage in the current Congress: H.R. 3378 and its Senate companion S. 1770, both titled the Racehorse Health and Safety Act of 2025. Neither has advanced to committee consideration.

The broader Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act — a landmark piece of legislation that created the first national, uniform set of integrity and safety rules for the sport — was signed into law in 2020 and is now in implementation. Akin Gump was working on HISA implementation issues for the NTRA throughout 2024, alongside the depreciation question.

Other ongoing NTRA priorities include interstate simulcasting rights, online pari-mutuel wagering regulations, and immigration policy affecting the equine workforce — specifically H-2A and H-2B visa programs for backstretch workers. The in-house team under Jordan Bonfitto was handling those issues directly.

No Congressional Hearing Mentions

Searches of congressional hearing records returned no instances of the NTRA being mentioned in testimony or statements over the relevant period.

The Bottom Line

What Russell Group Brought — and Who's Left

Tyson Redpath, one of the two lobbyists assigned to the NTRA account, has documented congressional experience working for Rep. John Boehner (R-OH-8) — a connection to Republican House leadership that would have been relevant during a period when the NTRA was pushing tax extender legislation through a GOP-controlled Congress. The data did not return a congressional staffer record for Sam Buchalter.

With the bonus depreciation fight now resolved legislatively, the NTRA retains Squire Patton Boggs, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, and Venture Government Strategies — alongside its in-house operation — to handle what remains on its federal agenda. Squire Patton Boggs brought lobbyists Tommy Andrews, Dave Stewart, and Dave Schnittger to the NTRA's work on tax extenders, the Farm Bill, and the RACE Act, which addresses fractional ownership registration issues at the SEC. Venture Government Strategies, which included former Rep. Kevin Yoder on its team, worked on both the depreciation issue and the Adaptive Sports Grant Program as it relates to equine therapy for disabled veterans.

The NTRA's lobbying spend and firm roster reflect an organization that built out a multi-firm operation to pursue a specific legislative goal. With that goal achieved, trimming one firm from the roster is consistent with the work being done.

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