July, 2021 | Horse Racing Free Tips

H-2B Visa Program Under Threat From Department Of Labor Appropriations Bill

The U.S. House Appropriations Committee is scheduled to consider the fiscal year 2022 Department of Labor Appropriations bill on Thursday, July 15, and language within the bill could devastate the H-2B visa program. The NTRA urges industry members to contact their Representative immediately and ask for this language to be removed from the bill.

The language of concern appears on pages 46-50 of the bill and would make the H-2B visa program difficult for many employers to use. Specifically, the draft bill would:

Prohibit industries from using the H-2B program if they experienced unemployment in any of the previous 12 months over 10 percent;
Prohibit construction industries from using the program even in seasonal locations or occupations;
Increase the baseline for wages to at least 150% of the federal or state minimum wage, whichever is higher;
Require wage compliance with a collaborative bargaining agreement for your industry in your area, even if you are not a party to the agreement;
Ban participation in the program for labor/workforce related infractions outside of the scope of the H-2B program.

“This appropriations bill contains alarming language for any business or industry that relies on the H-2B visa program to operate,” said NTRA president and CEO Alex Waldrop. “We ask trainers and others in horse racing to contact their Representative today to help get this language removed.”

As suggested by the H-2B Workforce Coalition, of which the NTRA is a member, industry members should:

Call your representative today and ask him or her to urge the House Appropriations Committee leadership and their Party Leadership to remove Sections 116, 117 and 118 of Fiscal Year 2022 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee Appropriations Bill before the legislation is considered by the Appropriations Committee on Thursday. You can reach your Representative through the Capitol Switchboard at 202-225-3121. Once connected to the office, please ask to speak to the staff person who handles Department of Labor appropriations.
Send an email to your Representative using this link

The H-2B visa guest worker program is a nonimmigrant visa program used by many industries that need temporary non-agricultural help when domestic workers are unavailable. For the horse racing industry, trainers rely heavily on the H-2B program to fill various backside positions.

About the NTRA
The NTRA, based in Lexington, Ky., is a broad-based coalition of more than 100 horse racing interests and thousands of individual stakeholders consisting of horseplayers, racetrack operators, owners, breeders, trainers and affiliated horse racing associations, charged with increasing the popularity, welfare and integrity of Thoroughbred racing through consensus-based leadership, legislative advocacy, safety and integrity initiatives, fan engagement and corporate partner development. The NTRA owns and manages the NTRA Safety and Integrity Alliance; NTRA.com; the Eclipse Awards; the National Horseplayers Championship; NTRA Advantage, a corporate partner sales and sponsorship program; and Horse PAC®, a federal political action committee. NTRA press releases appear on NTRA.com, Twitter (@ntra) and Facebook (facebook.com/1NTRA).

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Japan’s Laboratory Of Racing Chemistry Appointed IFHA Reference Laboratory

The International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA), following the approval of the IFHA's Executive Council, announced Wednesday that the Laboratory of Racing Chemistry, Japan (LRC) has been provisionally appointed as an IFHA Reference Laboratory. This approval is the result of its application and a remote assessment conducted under the supervision of the Reference Laboratory Appointment Committee (RLAC). Due to travel restrictions arising from the global COVID-19 pandemic, the remote assessment was conducted in place of an on-site assessment, following which the LRC has been provisionally appointed at this stage.

“I want to congratulate the Laboratory of Racing Chemistry for being provisionally appointed as an IFHA Reference Laboratory,” said IFHA Chairman Louis Romanet. “This is the culmination of a significant amount of collaboration and hard work by the LRC, the RLAC, and the Japan Racing Association (JRA). The assessor appointed by the RLAC was very favorably impressed with the scientific expertise of the LRC staff and observed that the methods under assessment were carried out efficiently, and samples were analyzed with a notable attention to detail.”

The LRC, established in 1965, is an internationally accredited horse racing doping control laboratory primarily used to provide professional analytical testing services for the analysis of equine biological samples including urine, blood and hair from horse racing and international equestrian events. LRC is the only equine drug testing laboratory in Japan, and its main role is to uphold the integrity of horse racing in Japan to ensure a level playing field for all stakeholders.

Under its provisional appointment, LRC joins Racing Analytical Services Limited (Australia); Laboratoire Des Courses Hippiques (France); LGC Group, Sport & Specialised Analytical Services (Great Britain); the Hong Kong Jockey Club Racing Laboratory (Hong Kong); and the Kenneth L. Maddy Equine Analytical Chemistry Laboratory, University of California at Davis (USA) as IFHA Reference Laboratories. As part of the application process, IFHA Reference Laboratories successfully satisfy criteria that include but are not limited to the scale of operations, resourcing, research activity and capability to detect the use of prohibited substances, including the major doping agents (MDAs).

The IFHA Reference Laboratory White Manual with annexes, updated for May 2021, can be found at https://ifhaonline.org/default.asp?section=IABRW&area=13.

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Summer Southern Hemisphere Breeding Season Rates Set For Domestic Ashford Stud Residents

Ashford Stud has revealed its 2021 Southern Hemisphere season fees for its stallion roster remaining at the Versailles, Ky., farm over the summer, the South American publication Turf Diario reports.

A total of 10 stallions will be on offer for breedings on Southern Hemisphere time, led by champion Uncle Mo, whose advertised fee for the season is $30,000.

The 13-year-old son of Indian Charlie's Southern Hemisphere runners are led by Man From Uncle, who is a multiple group stakes winner in Australia. Other runners of note on that side of the world include Australian group-placed Moqueen, St Covet's Spirit, Miss Moana, and Sister Sledge.

Two young stallions will stand for $10,000: the international runner Caravaggio, whose first foals are 2-year-olds of 2021, and Belmont Stakes winner Tiz the Law, who recently completed his first Northern Hemisphere season at stud. Tiz the Law was initially scheduled to stand in Chile this summer, but he will remain in the U.S.

Maximum Security and Classic Empire will stand for $7,500, while Air Force Blue, Cupid, Echo Town, and Mo Town will stand for $5,000.

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Crowds Capped at 1000 Per Day at Galway Summer Festival

There will be an attendance cap of just 1,000 spectators per day for the Galway Summer Festival. The week-long fixture features the Galway Plate and Galway Hurdle. Galway Racecourse had submitted a proposal of 5,000 fans a day through the turnstiles, but that was rejected by the Irish Government. Instead, the festival will have the same limit on spectators as the Irish Derby meeting at The Curragh earlier this summer. Ireland is still in the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We got news last night that we will be able to host 1,000 spectators on each day of the summer festival,” said Galway Chief Executive Michael Moloney. “We know, given the support that we've got over the last couple of weeks, that this will be extremely disappointing news to all our fans who had been looking forward to the opportunity maybe of coming back to Ballybrit this year. In terms of our sponsors and everyone looking forward to a larger crowd this year, it is disappointing.

“On the upside it is 7,000 more people than we had this time last year–and for those that do manage to get to come to Ballybrit this year, we're delighted we'll have owners back and now a small amount of public on top of that. We certainly look forward to making it an event that will be worth being at.”

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