Not everyone was happy on January 2 when President Obama signed into law the American Taxpayer Relief Act, notably those whose first 2013 paychecks were smaller than the ones they’d received in 2012.

But the law gave Thoroughbred horse owners a reason to raise a glass in a belated New Year’s toast, as it enacted retroactively favorable provisions that had expired at the end of 2011.

“What was supposed to happen in 2013,” said Joe Bacigalupo, director of member development for the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, “was that the bonus depreciation for 2012, which was set at a 50% schedule, would disappear entirely. The passage of the American Taxpayer Relief Act extended it for 2013.

“There’s a significant improvement between what was expected to happen and what actually happened.”

Read more at Forbes.com…