HELENA (AP) - The governor's economic development director told members of the new Horse Racing Task Force to look for ways to preserve the faltering industry in Montana.

The nine-member, volunteer task force is charged with examining the history, current situation and future trends of horse racing, identify problems and come up with possible solutions.

Evan Barrett, Gov. Brian Schweitzer's economic development officer, told task force members at an organizational meeting Tuesday that horse racing is important to the state.

"Horse racing is part of Montana's history, it is part of Montana's culture," he said.

The governor felt the state government could play a role in helping the industry, Barrett said.

"This is a serious challenge you face," Barrett told the task force. "If it were easy, it would have been fixed already."

The number of racing days in the state has dropped from nearly 120 to 37, steadily decreasing since the mid-1980s, officials with the State Board of Horse Racing have said.

Racing officials say the industry is trying to cope with big increase in the cost of insurance. The number of tracks offering racing has also decreased.

One idea is to seek tax money from the 2007 Legislature.

The task force will be looking at other ideas, including possible regulatory changes that could ease the burden of high insurance rates.

The Kalispell fair suspended horse racing for this summer, saying it was a money-loser, while Missoula County commissioners voted to run the races this summer, but said they will reconsider the issue again next year.

The task force is supposed to give its ideas to Schweitzer by the end of the year, and plans a number of meeting before then. Meetings may be held to coincide with horse racing events in Great Falls, Missoula and Billings.