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Jason Litt: Why I Left the KTA

It's no secret the horse industry is struggling. But like any good optimist, I'm always open to new ideas. I recently read Simon Sinek's book, Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action. The oversimplified concept of the book is how understanding your 'why' can contribute to your success.

This is my 'why' I chose a career in horse racing.

I love horses. From the unbelievable softness of a newborn foal to the rippling musculature of a stallion, they are majestic.

As an agent, breeder and owner, I enjoy being a custodian of the breed–a breed of horse that's over 300 years old, a breed that is noble, intelligent, honest and highly competitive. I often remind myself that it's a privilege, not a right, to be a part of the Thoroughbred horse racing industry. I've been fortunate over the last 20 years to work with amazingly talented horses, including some champions. I love the notion that 50 years from now, some of the horses I've been involved with may continue to have an impact on the breed.

I love competition. In 1999, I visited Keeneland for the first time for the September yearling sale with my father, Howard Litt. My father loved the sport. He loved the Damon Runyon-style characters that exist in every racetrack ecosystem, and he loved the mental gymnastics required in handicapping and athleticism of the horses. He sparked my competitive spirit when he made the statement as we were watching horses go through the ring, “Wouldn't it be cool if out of all of these horses you could pick a good one?”

Simply put, horse racing is hard. The lows of the game can deflate the most optimistic of individuals. We've all experienced hot nails, quarter cracks, spiked temps, colic, skin disease and failed fence jumpers, yet we are all bound by our persistence, determination and staying power. There is nothing more gratifying and fulfilling than winning a race and sharing that sense of accomplishment with a group of owners, friends and colleagues. Watching the replay on a continuous loop and recapping every nuance of the race with anyone that will listen isn't bad, either.

I hope you have an understanding of my 'why.' When I joined the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association three years ago, I was open-minded and excited about making a difference. Unfortunately, the gap between my 'why' and that of the KTA is too large to bridge, and therefore I am stepping down as a Director and making my reasons public. It's never too late to learn from our mistakes, hold people accountable for their actions or lack thereof and to embrace bold ideas.

Unfortunately, the recent events regarding HHR show how unprepared the organization has been to address an issue that has been working through the courts for over seven years. There is no disputing how important the revenue from HHR has become to the health of our industry. It is the KTA's role that all members in the assembly understand and appreciate the importance of our industry to both Kentucky's economy and image. The fact that there has never been a successfully organized KTA effort to educate legislators or develop a plan to support the election of legislators that will have a favorable perception of our industry is shocking.

I can no longer in good faith be associated with an organization that has been caught so unprepared to take a stand to protect the Kentucky Thoroughbred and all the jobs associated with this industry.

Sincerely,

Jason Litt

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KTA: Downward Trend Awaits Kentucky Racing If HHR Is Halted

If the Kentucky Supreme Court doesn't reconsider its recently-published surprise opinion on the legality of historical horse racing (HHR) machines in the state, Kentucky's racing industry will be in big trouble.

That's the gist of a document filed in the case this week by the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association (KTA). The KTA is seeking permission to file a brief of amicus curiae in the civil case between The Family Trust Foundation of Kentucky and the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission. Last month, the state supreme court reversed a 2018 lower court decision that determined HHR machines made by Exacta Systems were a form of legal pari-mutuel wagering.

The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce also submitted an amicus brief last week, expressing concern over the potential economic impact of the court's decision.

The KTA provided figures showing an upward improvement in all sectors of the state's racing and breeding industry since the introduction of HHR machines in 2012. The Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund is generated from half of the 1.5 percent excise tax imposed on wagering at tracks with HHR. The fund paid out purse supplements of just over $4.9 million in the year before the inception of HHR in Kentucky, and over $19.5 million last year.

The KTA's brief explains that this increase in purses has led to an increase in field size (which is above the national average) and handle (which increased 18.5 percent with the addition of HHR).

“Eliminating historical horse racing will have a significant negative effect on the Thoroughbred horse industry, which, again, is Kentucky's signature industry,” the brief read. “It will result in horses, trainers, jockeys, grooms, owners, racing executives, and other industry participants going to other states to compete. Kentucky will lose tourism dollars. Kentucky will lose revenue from on-track sources and also from off-track (and in many cases out of state) sources.

“In addition, reducing the KTDF purse supplements will reduce the purses, which will reduce the amount owners will be willing to pay for Kentucky-bred horses that are eligible to race for these supplements. This will lead to decreased spending on yearlings sold in Kentucky each year. It will lead to decreased spending on mares and stallions sold in Kentucky each year. It will lead to fewer mares being maintained in Kentucky. All of this would lead to decreased tax revenue, decreased employment, decreased tourism spending, and decreased economic impact. In short, Kentucky's signature industry would suffer and Kentucky racing would trend the way racing in other states is trending: downward.”

The KTA also raises questions about the legal elements of the Family Foundation's case and whether the court correctly interpreted definitions of pari-mutuel wagering, initial seed pools, and the commission's regulatory authority, among other things.

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Fayette County Schools Launch Equine Training Program

With an eye on bolstering the available pool of labor, several Kentucky horse farms, along with other industry organizations, have come together and donated $322,000 to the Fayette County Public Schools, which will be creating an all-encompassing equine training program for middle school students and high school students attending the Locust Trace AgriScience Center in Lexington.

While Fayette County might seem like a natural breeding ground for future farm employees that wasn’t necessarily the case, said Chauncey Morris, the executive director of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association, which spearheaded the effort to develop the program. Morris said that many students in the area had little interaction with horses and never considered horse racing as a career opportunity. The goal of the program was to not only create a source of jobs for local residents but to provide farms with a new pool of skilled labor, something that has been in short supply in recent years.

“We started having conversations about this 2 ½ years ago and we knew we wanted to provide more work opportunities for a local labor pool,” Morris said. “Once we started to know more about Locust Trace and (principal) Anne DeMott we saw that we had a huge asset, bricks and mortar, in our backyard where we had an opportunity to provide funding that would create more of a local labor source that would meet out workforce needs and accomplish a lot of goals.”

Locust Trace opened in 2011 and has always had equine-related classes, but the donation will lead to a large scale expansion of the program, which will, for the first time, also include middle school students who may end up at Locust Trace. DeMott estimates that as many as 220 students on the high school level will take part in the program.

“With us now working with the middle schools, we are reaching students earlier and creating an excitement and an enthusiasm for the industry,” DeMott said.

Another goal of the program will be to create jobs for minority students in racing, an industry that has recognized it needs to become more diverse. DeMott said that 30 percent of her students are minorities, but the goal is to bring more into the program. In attempt to do so, Locust Trace is working with Ron Mack, who operates the Legacy Equine Academy. The Legacy Equine Academy was formed in 2017 with the goal of promoting the equine and agriculture industries to minority students.

“It’s a beautiful story that’s being written,” Fayette County Public Schools Superintendent Manny Caulk said of the program. “That’s a story that is going to be inclusive of a very diverse group of students, racially, socio-economically. That’s important in today’s times when you are talking about racial and social justice. That’s what is top of mind for all of us. When they look at the role African Americans have played (in horse racing), I think they will be proud of that history. If you are proud of that sort of history and take ownership of it, you’re going to say ‘You know what? I can choose this profession too.'”

The program is geared to for the individual needs and desires of each student and to make them as marketable as possible. In additional to horsemanship skills, students will be taught such things as landscaping and farm maintenance. A curriculum will be established for those who want to go to work on a farm right after high school and for those who want to attend college or pursue a career in the veterinary field.

“My goal is that we have something for every learner, no matter what their end goal is or their ability level,” DeMott said.

While many of the students may start out in entry level jobs, Morris said there’s no reason why they can’t rise through the ranks at a major farm.

“Hands on horsemanship is often vital to getting to the next level,” Morris said. ” Many of our senior managers have been folks that stated at the entry level. Because of the size and scope of the industry here we are always constantly going to have a churn of labor. We need this because people are needed at every single level. If they have proper training at the entry level they can ascend much more swiftly. An industry is oftentimes only as productive and efficient as its labor force is. In the back of our minds, we have been mindful of this. If we are doing our jobs right there is always going to be a need that needs to be met here.”

The industry’s commitment to Locust Trace is for three years, but Morris is convinced that the program will prove to be so successful that it will become a long-term answer to an industry problem, finding good, reliable and skilled workers.

“This is the beginning of the story, not the end of it,” he said. “There are a lot of moving parts and it will probably take us some time to get our heads around all this. We are very grateful that we have the opportunity to do this. It’s going to be the first step and, hopefully, we will see a lot of returns. Central Kentucky has been very good to this industry. There is a humanitarian motivation here in that we are trying to give back to the community, as well. When it all comes together, we should also should be producing a well-rounded student, a graduate of Locust Trace, that if they choose to go to work in thoroughbred industry they will come in with training and a skill set.”

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KTA And KY Consortium Provide Tools For State To Become Leader In Equine Welfare And Anti-Doping

In light of the events widely reported in recent weeks, it is welcome news that Kentucky stakeholders have moved swiftly to help tackle the issues of transparency and anti-doping. A number of industry leaders, who represent the best-known organizations in the state, came together to bring Equine MediRecord, world leaders in equine welfare and anti-doping, to Kentucky.

Equine MediRecord, an award-winning Irish company that is well-established in Europe, solves a previously unmet need by allowing proper, timely recording of all regulatory medicines administered to horses, as well as recording their vaccination records. This will ensure that records cannot be lost, damaged or tampered with once closed on the system, greatly increasing transparency and accountability in relation to anti-doping and equine welfare. Kentucky, thanks to the consortium, is the first state to have access to the system.

The Kentucky Thoroughbred Association (KTA) stated “the KTA was pleased to financially support Equine MediRecord to enable them to populate the Kentucky regulations, thus providing Kentucky horsemen and women with new tools to comply with racing reforms on record keeping and trainer responsibility. Moreover, better recordkeeping provides a paper trail that protects trainers, their horses and owners.”

Dr. Will Farmer, Equine Medical Director of Churchill Downs, home racetrack of the Kentucky Derby, stated after seeing the system: “I think this would be a great tool for trainers!” Dr. Jeffrey Berk, a well-respected equine veterinarian in Lexington, agreed, saying “I think that this technology could be a useful tool for trainers to help them accurately record the medications their horses are receiving, as well as an aid to keeping in compliance with the medication rules of any athletic discipline that their horses are competing in.”

Pierce Dargan, CEO of Equine MediRecord, said: “We are happy to provide trainers with an easy-to-use system to keep track of the changing regulations. It can be difficult to keep up with these changes leading trainers to make genuinely innocent errors and have their reputations questioned. Our system provides vital information to trainers and allows technology to assist in ensuring they are compliant and that the very best horse welfare and anti-doping practices are being followed.”

Equine MediRecord was asked to present its system at the Association of Racing Commissioners International 2020 Conference on Racing Integrity and Animal Welfare in New Orleans in April, but this was unfortunately cancelled due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The KTA approached Equine MediRecord directly to enable their launch into the U.S.

The Kentucky Thoroughbred Association is a trade organization, representing thoroughbred owners, breeders and trainers, working to broaden the support base and increase visibility on issues that impact the Thoroughbred industry on local, state, and national levels, while continuing to promote the Kentucky Thoroughbred racing and breeding industry at home and around the world.

Equine MediRecord is the global leader in equine anti-doping and horse welfare software. They operate in Ireland, the UK, France and now the USA. They recently partnered with the Arabian Racing Organisation (ARO) in the UK to make the ARO the first in Europe and second in the world to mandate electronic medical records be kept by their registered trainers. They then partnered with the Irish Veterinary Welfare Commission to make Irish Standardbred horses the first in the world to mandate medical records digitized not only for horses in training, but for breeding stock as well. Equine MediRecord based on The Curragh, county Kildare, has been strongly supported from its foundation by the Kildare Local Enterprise Office and Trinity College Dublin.

For more information about Equine MediRecord, click here.

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