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CHRB: Several Fair Dates Moved To Golden Gate, Serious Concerns Aired About National Bill

The California Horse Racing Board conducted a meeting by teleconference on Thursday, September 24. The public participated by dialing into the teleconference and/or listening through the audio webcast link on the CHRB website. Chairman Gregory Ferraro chaired the meeting, joined by Vice Chairman Oscar Gonzales and Commissioners Dennis Alfieri, Damascus Castellanos, Brenda Washington Davis, and Wendy Mitchell.

The audio of this entire Board meeting is available on the CHRB Website (www.chrb.ca.gov) under the Webcast link. In brief:

Chairman Ferraro and others welcomed Commissioner Davis to her first meeting since her August 26 appointment to the Board by Governor Gavin Newsom.
The Board approved license applications for four race meets, all of which are scheduled to be run without fans in attendance due to COVID-19 and under strict protocols established by local health officials designed to protect all racing participants. As approved:
- The Del Mar Thoroughbred Club will run its fall meet beginning October 31 through November 29 with mostly three-day racing weeks, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
- Watchandwager.com will run a harness meet at Cal Expo beginning November 21 through December 19 with mostly two-day racing weeks, Fridays and Saturdays.
- Pacific Racing Association II will run an extended thoroughbred meet at Golden Gate Fields (GGF) due to the reallocation of race dates that have been relinquished by the Big Fresno Fair. The additional two weeks extend the current race meet to October 18.
- After the conclusion of the current meet, including the additional dates relinquished by the Big Fresno Fair, Pacific Racing Association will run a separate thoroughbred meet at GGF beginning October 22 through December 13, all four-day race weeks, Thursday through Sunday.
The Board approved agreements between the Thoroughbred Owners of California and the racing secretaries at GGF and Del Mar regarding entry conditions limiting specific drug substances for entered horses.
Dr. Rick Arthur, equine medical director, advised he was in constant contact with management at Los Alamitos, GGF, and Del Mar and with safety personnel at those locations pertaining to heat conditions and also air quality issues created by widespread fires.
There were no heat-related problems with horses during the recent heat wave throughout California, but air quality conditions caused a major reduction in training and also prompted GGF to cancel one weekend of racing. Santa Anita postponed the start of its fall meet by one week to September 25.
Dr. Arthur stressed the relationship between racehorse injury and rider safety, an issue he raised due to the serious injuries sustained by jockey Vinnie Bednar. He reminded the Board that research at the University of California, Davis, confirmed the relationship between horse injury and jockey injury and noted that a video on Racing Injury Prevention can be viewed on the CHRB website. He also advised that a GoFundMe account has been established for Bednar ( https://gf.me/u/yvswsm ).
Executive Director Scott Chaney reported serious concerns with the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act that is moving swiftly through Congress. These concerns were echoed by some commissioners. Chaney said safety rules and protocols in California are the strictest in the nation. Therefore, national standards, as called for in HISA, may actually be less strict.
Chaney reminded everyone that a revised rule governing use of the riding crop will go into effect October 1. The CHRB issued a news release earlier on this subject. He also noted improvements to the CHRB website pertaining to the listing of equine fatalities and a list of reforms that are either completed or in process for the protection of horses and riders.
For continuity purposes, the Board temporarily suspended through December 25 the new rule prohibiting Lasix in 2-year-olds, which will only impact quarter horses.
In compliance with a procedural matter raised by the Office of Administrative Law, the Board re-approved a rule strictly limiting the use of extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) on racehorses.
The Board suspended Rule 1845(h), which required syringes used to administer Lasix on race day be retained. An amendment permanently eliminating the requirement will be heard in October.
In two separate but related actions, the Board authorized Los Alamitos to distribute a total of $26,580 in race day charity proceeds to four beneficiaries.
The Board authorized Los Alamitos Equine Horse Sale, LLC, to conduct horse sales at Los Alamitos on October 3 and 4.

Public comments made during the meeting can be accessed through the meeting audio archive on the CHRB website

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ARCI Analysis: McConnell Bill May Incentivize States to Defund Anti-Doping And Medication Rule Enforcement

The Association of Racing Commissioners International is preparing an analysis of the newly proposed legislation, the “Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act,” by Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell (R), so the group can prepare for a “smooth transition” should the measure be enacted. Earlier this week, the ARCI released a statement looking at the bill's effect on breeders, and another looking at control of medications in training.

The newly proposed Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act of 2020 (S.4547) may provide an incentive for States to defund existing anti-doping and medication rule enforcement programs.

“COVID-19 has economically devastated many state budgets and the additional resources just may not be there to improve upon the existing anti-doping and medication enforcement program infrastructure to comply with S.4547,” said Ed Martin, President of the ARCI.

The RCI President said It is not unreasonable to expect that a State Budget Director or Legislative Committee will look at this law and question why the state needs to continue paying for the existing program, any new unfunded mandates, and a new federal authority as well as it's contracted enforcement agency. As the law allows the state to “off load” their current program and have the federally dictated system operate and pay for it, there will be an economic incentive to do that.

At that point racetracks, owners, trainers, breeders, and veterinarians may be assessed costs to replace the lost state investment and pay for the additional two entities envisioned by the bill.

Depending on the state, the local racing industry will continue to pay all current state assessments and taxes and may discover that they now must pay newly levied assessments to pay for the now federally mandated privatized program.

According to the analysis and assuming that there will be no industry specific state tax cut in these jurisdictions and existing revenue sources will remain, the racetracks, owners, trainers, breeders, and veterinarians in the following states (partial list) are potentially exposed to paying again should their state program be shifted to the newly created NGO:

Illinois	Colorado
Michigan	Florida
Oregon	Arizona
Massachusetts	Nebraska
Virginia	Washington
Indiana	New Mexico
Wyoming	Louisiana

Some states have the ability to directly bill racetracks for their program. These states may continue to operate their existing program and simply forward the newly enhanced bill for the current program, additional mandates and the two new entities directly to the racetracks which will then be required to pay the state. These jurisdictions include:

New Jersey	Texas
Kentucky	Delaware
Iowa	Oklahoma
Massachusetts	Nebraska
Virginia	Maryland* (see below)
West Virginia	Minnesota
New York* (see below)

In New York, state general fund monies are used to pay for the drug testing enforcement program and shortfalls are recouped from a commission determined industry assessment on racetracks and owners. Given New York's post virus severe financial needs going forward it would be possible for the state to cut funds for drug testing and allow the commission to impose fees on tracks and owners to pay for the shortfall and any additional costs imposed by the legislation.

If that were to happen or should the State hand the program off, the prospect for an industry specific tax cut would be slim and the industry would be totally required to make up the loss of state investment.

In Maryland, only certain costs can be forwarded to the tracks and additional mandates may require legislation in order to be passed through.

S.4547 envisions that racing commissions will pass the overhead costs for the new authority and its enforcement agency to industry participants based on the assessment bill received each year. The states do not have the authority to unilaterally impose and set such assessments with the possible exception of New York as indicated above.

The States have had to do the best job they could with the available funding. State budgets have always considered the ability of people to afford the assessments. This bill puts no limit on program funding which is a luxury no State Racing Commission ever has had.

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Virtual International Conference Of Horseracing Authorities To Focus On COVID-19 Impact

In place of its traditional in-person meeting, the 54th International Conference of Horseracing Authorities, organized by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA), will be virtual in 2020. The conference is typically held in Paris, France, the day after the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (G1), but in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it will instead be conducted as a series of videos released during the first two weeks of October.

The conference will feature a sequence of pre-recorded Zoom discussions with prominent racing executives, participants, and stakeholders who have been conducting horseracing during the pandemic as well as insights from other leading sports figures.

“While we will certainly miss having everyone in Paris this year, it was clear that the safest course of action was to host our annual conference virtually as a result of COVID-19,” said IFHA Chairman Louis Romanet. “The pandemic has affected every aspect of life, and we felt it was important to focus on it as the key topic for the conference in this unique year. We hope to return to our traditional format in 2021.”

The key note address will be delivered by Pete Giorgio and Alan Switzer from Deloitte, the largest global professional services network.

Giorgio, a principal with Deloitte Consulting LLP, leads the company's United States sports practice, serving multiple sports clients including the United States Golf Association, National Basketball Association (NBA), United States Tennis Association, and United States Olympic Committee.

He is the co-author of Deloitte's 2020 report Games without fans: How sports organizations can thrive now, and in the long term as well as the co-author of the April 2020 report Understanding the impact of COVID-19 on telecommunications, media, and entertainment organizations: Sports subsector.

Switzer is a director in the Sports Business Group, Deloitte's global centre of excellence in sport business. He has worked extensively in horseracing for over 15 years, including producing multiple Economic Impact studies on racing—notably in respective of British and Irish racing.

They will discuss the findings from Deloitte's research and experience into the impact of COVID-19 on the sports sector, including the practical steps that sports organizations can take to adapt to the “new normal”, opportunities arising from the challenging circumstances and how that advice can be tailored to horseracing organizations.

Additionally, Rishi Persad will moderate four panels featuring industry members from across the globe who will discuss the impact of the pandemic on horseracing both regionally and internationally. Sessions will examine sustaining the business of racing and sports in the midst of a global pandemic and economic uncertainty; adapting the broadcast, production, and media experience to a COVID-19 racing and sporting landscape; participating and working in racing during a global pandemic; and preparing for and sustaining racing post-COVID 19.

Among the panelists scheduled to take part are: Charlie Appleby (trainer), Victoria Carter (New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing), Stephen Cook (IMG), Francesca Cumani (ITV), Olivier Delloye (France Galop), William Derby (York Racecourse), Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges (Hong Kong Jockey Club), Horacio Esposito (OSAF & Latin American Racing Channel), Drew Fleming (Breeders' Cup), Katherine Ford, (Equidia), Andrew Harding (Hong Kong Jockey Club), Rob Hyland (NBC Sports), Brian Kavanagh (Horse Racing Ireland), Ger Lyons (trainer), Annamarie Phelps (British Horseracing Authority), Zac Purton (jockey), Jason Richardson (Ch7/Racing.com), Shigeru Suzuki (Japan Racing Association), and Chris Waller (trainer).

The videos from the International Conference of Horseracing Authorities will be posted on the IFHA's website and social media platforms starting the 5th of October.

The first International Conference of Horseracing Authorities was organized and hosted by the Société d'Encouragement in Paris, France, on October 9, 1967. Since 1994, the annual conference has been organized by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities at France Galop. In 2019, the conference convened delegates from more than 50 different countries with a number of other racing executives and media members in attendance.

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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.

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