The Kentucky Derby occurred over the weekend, and two major horse races will take place in the coming weeks: the Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes.

Collectively, the three races are known as the Triple Crown of thoroughbred racing. They’re also a great reminder of the complexity of our tax code and the waste created by carve-outs for special interest groups.

The federal government allows racehorse owners to claim the depreciable property of racehorses for three years, as long as they purchased the horse before it turned 24 months old. The owners can write off up to $500,000 in depreciated value.

It’s a special tax break for wealthy horse owners. Many of them own racehorses as an expensive hobby. Both political parties are guilty of supporting this tax break, but Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is one of its biggest advocates.

The federal government has some important responsibilities, including funding the world’s most powerful military and financially supporting the elderly. However, subsidizing a niche sport at the expense of tax revenue when our country faces a national debt exceeding $30 trillion is unwise. These wealthy racehorse owners can make sizable political contributions to politicians to ensure this tax break continues, but this carve-out and other frivolous ones don’t belong in our nation’s tax code.

It’s a ridiculous tax break, but, unfortunately, it’s not surprising. The federal government gives people deductions for purchasing yachts, private jets (including for mixed business and personal use), and breast implants (for work purposes), as CNBC points out.

And horse racing isn’t the only sport with special tax breaks from the federal government. In addition to taxpayer funding at the state and local levels, professional sports stadiums receive federal subsidies via tax-exempt municipal bonds. These municipal bonds exist to fund things that benefit the public good, such as roads, bridges, and public schools. They should not exist to make wealthy families even richer.

The federal government should lower taxes, but not for certain well-connected groups in specific instances that don’t help the public. A bigger child tax credit may help more working families pay their bills. Cutting people’s taxes because they have an expensive hobby is unnecessary and fiscally irresponsible.

Tom Joyce (@TomJoyceSports) is a political reporter for the New Boston Post in Massachusetts.