The Thoroughbred racing industry in West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle has grown so much in six years that it now helps employ more than 3,600 people and has an annual economic impact of $173 million, a study released Thursday (Nov. 30) concluded.

But the report for the Charles Town Horsemen’s Benevolent & Protective Association also finds some horse owners are struggling to turn a profit. It warns that gambling competition from Pennsylvania and other states, plus the handling of slot-machine revenue, could make things even more difficult.

Thalheimer Research Associates Inc. of Lexington, Ky., says the horse industry contributed $113 million in direct spending to the economy last year and created the equivalent of 2,313 full-time jobs. The other $60 million and 1,345 jobs were the “ripple effect” on other businesses, industries and government.

Horse owners, trainers and breeders were surveyed by mail for the report, and some data was provided by the Charles Town Races & Slots owned by Penn National Gaming Inc. of Wyomissing, Pa