Arizona HBPA | Horse Racing Free Tips

New Twist In Arizona Racing Saga Tabled As Commission Requests Hearing On Monarch Contracts

Those following the ongoing saga of racing and simulcasting in Arizona walked away from the latest meeting of the Arizona Racing Commission on Oct. 8 with limited clairity. Negotiations are ongoing between Turf Paradise and the horsemen regarding a live meet at the Phoenix track in 2021, which under current terms is likely to take place Jan. 2-May 1. While commission staff have seen a proposal to race those dates, the group held off voting on it until a final agreement is reached between the two parties.

(Read more about the dispute between Turf Paradise and the horsemen in this Sept. 23 column from Ray Paulick.)

Commissioners did ask track officials about rumors the facility has sold off certain equipment and let the track and barn area slide into disrepair. Representatives from Turf Paradise assured the commission that if racing dates were granted, the track would be safe for horses and humans in time for the meet to begin. Turf Paradise general manager Vincent Francia said “none of the essential equipment” like ambulances, water trucks and other maintenance vehicles had been sold.

Turf Paradise representatives also hoped the commission would grant a reduction in the minimum number of live racing dates required to operate OTBs in the state, given the current Arizona and federal-level state of emergency declarations. The commission delayed action on this question and requested more information about the language of existing rules allowing a reduction in minimum live racing dates as it may apply specifically to a pandemic.

For many, the most critical item on Thursday's agenda was consideration by the commission of simulcast agreements between Monarch Content Management and Arizona Downs in Prescott Valley, and Monarch with Turf Paradise. Monarch, owned by The Stronach Group, brokers simulcast contracts on behalf of Stronach tracks Santa Anita, Golden Gate Fields, Gulfstream Park, Laurel Park, Pimlico, plus Del Mar, Monmouth Park and Tampa Bay Downs.

Attorney Kory Langhofer, representing Arizona Downs, revealed that the most recent draft of the agreement Monarch sent the track would require money wagered at Arizona Downs OTBs to be held in a separate pool and not commingled into the host track's pools.

“It's going to have a profound effect on the commercial viability of those sites,” Langhofer said.

Langhofer also suggested he understood the copy of the contract offered to Turf Paradise by Monarch did not have this restriction, instead allowing money wagered at those facilities to go into the host track's pools as is customary.

“It hasn't been approved and my client won't approve it because it's unreasonable,” said Langhofer, who urged the commission not to approve the contract between Monarch and Turf Paradise either. He was unsure whether Monarch imposed similar restrictions on operators in other states.

Arizona has a law on the books, similar to one in California, requiring that if a company sells simulcast signals to one track in the state, it must sell to all. Attorneys for Turf Paradise, which is apparently in favor of Arizona Downs OTBs being restricted this way, pointed out that the law doesn't say anything about what the pool arrangements should be. Language in the rule that contracts can't be “anti-competitive and deceptive” refer to the rates charged for signals, not to the specific constructs of a deal. Scot Claus, an attorney for Monarch, accused Arizona Downs of repeatedly defaulting on its contracts with Monarch and said that out-of-state tracks sending their signal into Arizona cannot be forced to take wagers into their pools.

Ultimately, the commission voted unanimously to hold a special hearing to consider the Monarch contracts, with instructions that attorneys for each party should file briefs of no longer than 25 pages before the next racing commission meeting. The next regularly scheduled commission meeting is Nov. 12, 2020.

The post New Twist In Arizona Racing Saga Tabled As Commission Requests Hearing On Monarch Contracts appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Turf Paradise Submits Proposal For 84-Day Winter Meet — With Conditions

The standoff between Arizona horsemen and Turf Paradise continues to evolve. A letter published by Thoroughbred Daily News last week from Turf Paradise states the track will seek live race dates from Jan. 2 to May 1, 2021, 84 cards total, at the next racing commission meeting on Oct. 8.

In return, the track expects the Arizona Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (AZHBPA) to refund the $2.1 million the organization took from the Turf Paradise horsemen's account after AZHBPA asserted it was the rightful owner of the money.

AZHBPA is also asked to approve both imports and exports of the Turf Paradise signal through the end of the proposed meet.

A spokesman for AHBPA told the TDN the second request is not a dealbreaker, but the first one could be problematic. The horsemen's group believes it controls money allocated to the horsemen's purse account, according to a prior arbitrated settlement. The track believes the money should be controlled by a group of horsemen who run specifically at Turf Paradise, not the statewide horsemen's group.

The Paulick Report's Ray Paulick provided his perspective on the ongoing disputes between the state's primary track and its horsemen's group in this op/ed last week.

Read more about the latest developments at Thoroughbred Daily News

The post Turf Paradise Submits Proposal For 84-Day Winter Meet — With Conditions appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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View From The Eighth Pole: The Skunk In Arizona Racing

“You don't get in a pissing match with a skunk.”

Those words were first conveyed to me in the mid-1970s when I was dealing with a political operative in Washington, D.C., who wasn't happy with something written by a newspaper columnist nationally syndicated by the company for which I was working.

While that may be good advice, sometimes you just can't avoid confrontations with skunks.

One example came from a recent letter from Turf Paradise general manager Vincent Francia to horsemen who race at the Phoenix, Ariz. track.

The letter, likely dictated to Francia by Turf Paradise owner Jerry Simms, was both delusional and insulting. It said, in essence, if you want us to open Turf Paradise for an abbreviated race meeting in 2021, you'll have to find another organization besides the Arizona Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association to represent you. Either that, or the current board and executive director of the Arizona HBPA can resign, and then we'll consider opening for a live meet in January.

“Simms is trying to do the same thing with the horsemen that he did with the racing commission a while ago: divide and conquer,” said Robert Hutton, president of the Arizona HBPA. “His move to get rid of the HBPA is because he doesn't want anyone holding him to a standard.”

Simms and Francia are upset that Hutton and the Arizona HBPA took control of $2.1 million in the purse account generated primarily from Simms-controlled off-track betting facilities from the time live racing at Turf Paradise abruptly ended last March and horsemen were given short notice to leave the stable area.

“We were well within our rights,” Hutton said. “We want to take the purse money and give it to anyone who wants to run a live race meet in the state.”

The move came after Turf Paradise told the Arizona Racing Commission in August that it wouldn't be possible to run a 2020-'21 race meeting because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Virtually every other track in the country has been able to meet the challenge of the pandemic and operate with or without fans on-site.

Turf Paradise said it wanted to hold the horsemen's purse money for a meeting at some time in the future. Never mind the short-term pain having no 2021 meet would inflict on horsepeople who have supported Turf Paradise for years or decades.

According to Hutton, Francia and Simms simply may be trying to buy time and keep churning profits out of their OTB network – which he said can only operate if there is live racing.

“No live racing, no OTBs. That's the law,” Hutton said. “In his settlement agreement with us in March, one of the things we agreed to was he (Simms) could have OTB signals until the end of the year. We're willing to stick to that, but that date is fast approaching.”

In response to Francia's Sept. 17 letter to horsemen, Hutton issued one of his own on behalf of the Arizona HBPA the following day

In it, he calls Francia's bluff and agrees to a January-May race meet on the following conditions:

That Simms “respect the horsemen's choice of representation and refrain from your attempt to tell us, the horsemen, who we can have as our representatives. Respect us, our choices, our leadership, our solidarity, and our industry.”
That Simms “honor the arbitration agreement and allow the AHBPA control of the horsemen's purse account (with the understanding that it will be used for purses during Turf Paradise's live meet). Additionally, reimburse AHBPA purse money from March 2020, when you killed the contract, to present, what the state law requires: 50% of the OTB revenue, when a contract is not in place.”
“The track must be safe for horses and people. Right now, the main track, the turf track and the training track are not fit to run on. The back side is full of trenches, power boxes with wires exposed, and the roads and bridle path are in terrible condition. The barns are, as always, dilapidated. And the clubhouse is uninhabitable. No doubt, to meet this condition, a safety inspection will be required.”

Hutton then added: “As an aside, the condition of your facility and grounds gives us pause as to the genuineness of your proposal. Could it be that you are simply after an AHBPA that you can control so that you will be able to collect revenues from OTBs without live racing and secure approvals for importing the signal without live racing, as you are now? If that is the case, then we will have racing on your terms which is no racing at all. Which would violate state law, and we would be forced to have the Commission regulate compliance.”

There is a skunk involved in Arizona racing, for sure, but it's not the horsemen who started this pissing match.

That's my view from the eighth pole.

The post View From The Eighth Pole: The Skunk In Arizona Racing appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Turf Paradise to AZHBPA: Let’s Race, But First Return Money

Turf Paradise is proposing to host a live meet next year that will run Jan. 2 through May 1, according to a letter from Turf Paradise general manager, Vince Francia, to the Arizona horsemen dated Thursday.

Turf Paradise had previously announced that it had cancelled its 2020-2021 race meet due to health fears associated with operating a live meet during a global pandemic.

For the proposed meet to go ahead, however, Turf Paradise management listed in the letter a number of caveats, namely that $2.1 million of disputed purse account monies be returned to Turf Paradise, and that the Arizona horsemen form a new representative organization or for the current Arizona Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (AZHBPA) board members and their executive director to resign.

These purse account funds have been the latest bone of contention in a long-running dispute between Arizona horsemen and management of Turf Paradise. Francia previously told the TDN that these funds contractually belong to Turf Paradise for the horsemen that race there.

The horsemen, however, argue that they ultimately wield control over the purse account, as per a prior arbitrated settlement. Indeed, earlier this week a widely circulated email stated that the AZHBPA has secured a good chunk of this money and placed it into a trust to pay purses if and when racing resumes elsewhere.

But Thursday’s letter states that the “first condition” for the proposed meet to go ahead at Turf Paradise is that the “$2.1 million” that was transferred be returned to the horsemen’s purse account at Turf Paradise.

“That money does not belong to the AZBBPA or to Turf Paradise,” the letter states. “It belongs to the horsemen who are racing live at Turf. Without that money being transferred back into the horsemen’s purse account, Turf would not be able to host the proposed race meet. It has been publically stated by AZHBPA President Bob Hutton that, ‘they [the funds] will be used only for purse money for whatever track that wants to run a live meet!'”

The “second condition” of a meet at Turf Paradise is that the Arizona horsemen form a new group that represents a “majority of horsemen at Turf Paradise,” and represent the horsemen’s interests in live racing and simulcasting at Turf Paradise. According to the letter, the new group would have to elect a board of directors, including a president and officers, and create by-laws.

The letter also states, however, that another “quicker way” to accomplish this goal would be for the current AZHBPA board members and their executive director to resign their positions, “making room” for a new board and executive director.

As per the letter: “Recently the AZHBPA and Turf Paradise agreed to terminate the current contract between us. A new contract will be needed between Turf Paradise and the new horsemen’s group.

“Suffice it is to say, both Turf and the AZHBPA have tried to resolve their differences. But with the transfer of Turf Paradise horsemen’s purse money into an account by the AZHBPA–without advising Turf management–there is no point in further dialogue or negotiations between the two of us.

“Time is of the essence. There is a lot that Turf Paradise and the horsemen need to do so that we can open racing on Jan. 2. This also includes Racing Commission approval of the proposed live dates. To get this done everyone is going to have to move quickly.”

National HBPA president Leroy Gessmann re-stated the AZHBPA’s position that it ultimately controls the purse account, and that the money is intended for whatever facility conducts a live race meet in Arizona.

“If Turf Paradise wants to run a live meet, all they’ve got to do is apply for live dates, meet the safety standards set forth by the commission, and we will provide them with the purse money,” said Gessman.

When asked about the second condition in the letter–the formation of a new horsemen’s group–Gessman responded: “I don’t know what to say about that-the HBPA is the one that holds the purse money.”

The HBPA is also the horsemen’s recognized group, he added, “not only at Turf Paradise but according to the state.”

Gessman also cast doubts over the sincerity of the proposed race-dates in the letter. “All [Turf Paradise owner, Jerry Simms] is trying to do is keep his OTB system intact,” said Gessman. “He’s not trying to run a race meet.”

According to Francia, however, the change in heart concerning the operation of a live race meet this ensuing winter has been brought about by concerns for the Arizona horsemen.

“The horsemen have wanted and needed a place to race during the winter,” he said. “The pandemic hasn’t gone away–

we’re well aware of that, and we’re going to have to deal with that.”

When asked about his request for the horsemen to form a new group to represent the horsemen’s interests, Francia said that it’s an effort to break the intransigence in ongoing negotiations between the two entities.

“Personally, I’ve known Mr. Simms for 20 years–I’m his good friend as well as his employee,” said Francia. “I am just exhausted and disheartened by this negative energy that has been directed towards him by this board.”

The post Turf Paradise to AZHBPA: Let’s Race, But First Return Money appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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