Circuit of the Americas is out at least $25 million in state funding after Gov. Greg Abbott's office rejected its annual application for reimbursement following the 2018 Formula One race at the track.

Officials in the governor's office said track representatives failed to meet the deadline for submitting a human trafficking prevention plan as part of their reimbursement request.

The stunning development means the track in Southeast Austin will forfeit $25 million or more in state funds through the Major Event Reimbursement Program. The state reimbursed the racetrack $27 million through the program after the 2017 U.S. Grand Prix, $26 million for the 2016 F1 race and $22.7 million for the 2015 U.S. Grand Prix.

The circuit has received similar annual payments since its first F1 race in 2012. In the past, track officials have said the state funding was critical to maintaining successful operations at the track. In 2016, the track's chairman, Bobby Epstein, and Formula One's chief executive, Bernie Ecclestone, told the American-Statesman that a $5.5 million reduction in state funding would place the future of the F1 race in serious doubt.

The governor's office gave preliminary approval to providing state funds for the 2018 U.S. Grand Prix on Sept. 24, according to an October 2018 letter from the office that was obtained by the Statesman. However, after economic development officials in the office realized they had not received a human trafficking prevention plan, they rescinded the approval.

While a spokesman for Abbott's office said the reimbursement cannot be paid, circuit Vice President Rick Abbott said the track will continue to work to get the annual subsidy.

"As the reimbursement for the 2017 USGP was not paid until 10 months after the event, we remain hopeful the 2018 issues can be resolved," Rick Abbott, who's not related to the governor, said in a statement posted Wednesday on Twitter.

However, it appears there is no clear recourse for the circuit to obtain state money for the 2018 F1 race. State law prohibits incentives being paid from the Major Events Reimbursement Program if applicants do not submit the required human trafficking prevention plan.

Since 2012, the racetrack has been awarded more than $100 million from the state's Events Trust Fund, which reimburses the organizers of large-scale one-time or annual events. In recent years, the governor's office has paid millions to the city of Fort Worth, the Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Houston Sports Authority and the Circuit of the Americas group known as Circuit Events Local Organizing Committee, or CELOC, for events that included Super Bowl LI, the O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 NASCAR race and the 2018 Final Four for NCAA men's basketball, according to the governor's office.

The state’s payment to the track is based on the amount of economic activity the race generates for Texas. In the past, Circuit of the Americas paid the money directly to Formula One's parent company as a sanctioning fee for permission to hold the race. For the 2018 U.S. Grand Prix, thr track asked for $25,872,004 from the state, according to its application for reimbursement. Estimated attendance for the F1 event Oct. 19-21 was more than 101,000 people, including nearly 63,000 from out of state.

According to an October 2018 letter from the governor's office obtained by the Statesman, CELOC missed the deadline to submit a required human trafficking prevention plan by 30 days before the 2018 U.S. Grand Prix. Bryan Daniel, the governor's executive director of economic development and tourism, wrote that because CELOC failed to meet the deadline, its application for reimbursement had been rescinded.

The plan was due Sept. 19. CELOC submitted it Oct. 3.

“In this case, the law is clear that if a human trafficking prevention plan is not submitted 30 days prior to an event, a reimbursement from the Major Events Fund cannot be issued," Abbott spokesman John Wittman said in an emailed statement. "The State of Texas and COTA have a productive partnership that has had a tremendous economic impact on the city of Austin and the state as a whole, and our office is already working with COTA on next year’s race.”

Large-scale sporting events, including F1 races, are known to lead to increases in prostitution surrounding the event. During previous F1 races at Circuit of the Americas, local law enforcement agencies teamed up to fight sex trafficking.

The track's Rick Abbott said that even though a prevention plan was not submitted by the deadline, the track continued with the anti-human trafficking efforts it had outlined before its 2018 MotoGP race last April.

"The anti-trafficking plan was on file for other events throughout the year, so it is not a question of implementation," Rick Abbott's statement said. "In April of 2018, the Circuit of the Americas operations team developed a human trafficking plan to be included in the Emergency Action Plan (EAP) for the 2018 MotoGP Grand Prix of the Americas. That plan stayed in place throughout the entire 2018 race season."