The management of the Kentucky Horse Park is being questioned, with an audit underway to investigate the financial activities and operations of the famed equestrian facility between 2014 and 2016.
Kentucky state auditor Mark Harmon has been contracted to determine whether proper policies, procedures, legal and contractual requirements, and appropriate accounting standards were followed during this time period, according to a report by the Lexington Herald Leader.
In February, Senate Republican leader Damon Thayer filed a bill that would abolish the current governing board of the 1,224-acre Kentucky Horse Park (KHP) near Lexington and replace it with a newly designed board, citing wasteful spending and political patronage under the governance of former Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear and former First Lady Jane Beshear. The move would likely remove Jane Beshear, who was appointed to the Horse Park Commission by her husband the day before he left office in December 2015.
Thayer has also called for the comprehensive audit of the KHP, which has an annual budget of about $15.3 million ‒ approximately $12.8 million from its own revenues and $2.5 million from the state.
“The Kentucky Horse Park is the people’s park. It’s not meant for the few, for the privileged, and for the wealthy to make it their personal playground,” Thayer said in a speech.
Steve Beshear has refuted the claims, calling KHP “a leading tourist attraction and a focal point for Kentucky’s equine industry.”
KHP director Jamie Link previously announced that the park would absorb the cost of the audit, but it is unknown at this time what Harmon’s fee will be. No timeline has been given for the release of the audit’s results.
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