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All-Star Panel Of Experts Set For Inaugural Racecourse Manager Certification Program

An all-star panel of national experts on turf management and ongoing maintenance headlines (or leads) the June 7 session of the inaugural Racecourse Manager Certification program, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) and University of Kentucky announced Tuesday.

The program is the first in a three-course program entitled “Turfgrass as an Equine Sports Surface.” Jamie Richardson, Racetrack Superintendent at Churchill Downs, will provide introductory remarks at the opening session. Other speakers include:

Mike Boekholder, Boekholder & Associates;
Logan Freeman, Mountain Branch Golf Club, Joppa Maryland;
Michael Goatley, Jr., Ph.D., Professor and Extension Turfgrass Specialist, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University;
Beth Guertal, Ph.D., Professor of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences, Auburn University;
Gregg Munshaw, Ph.D., Director of Agronomy, Mountain View Seeds; and
Geoffrey Rinehart, MS, Turfgrass Management Lecturer, University of Maryland

The Racecourse Manager Certification program curriculum is designed for those already engaged in careers with turf surface maintenance. The online classes are free. Individuals who complete the video courses and pass a test that requires a $50 fee will receive a certificate of completion from the University of Kentucky. Participating Thoroughbred racetracks that enroll their personnel will receive credit toward future accreditation by the NTRA Safety & Integrity Alliance.

Individuals who pre-register at https://www.ntra.com/rmcp/ will be sent a Zoom link prior to the webinar on June 7 at 9 am.

The curriculum for the turf management course was developed by Michael “Mick” Peterson, Ph.D., Director of the Racetrack Safety Program at the University of Kentucky and Executive Director of the Racing Surfaces and Testing Laboratory (RSTL).

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Additional H-2B Visas Available For Second Half Of Federal Fiscal Year

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a joint temporary final rule that was published today in the Federal Register and offers 22,000 additional H-2B visas to employers for the second half of the federal fiscal year that ends on September 30, 2021. These visas are used by employers, such as racehorse trainers, who seek seasonal guest workers. They are capped at 66,000 annually, with an even split of 33,000 available for each half of the federal government's fiscal year. Six thousand of these supplemental visas will be reserved for nationals of the Northern Triangle countries of Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala.

“The 22,000 H-2B visas offered through this rule issued by the DHS and DOL will be helpful to employers who rely on the H-2B visa program, including trainers, but many more of these visas are ultimately required to satisfy the need,” said NTRA President and CEO Alex Waldrop. “For that reason, the NTRA, through its involvement in the H-2B Workforce Coalition, supports additional relief from the burdensome annual H-2B visa cap through a permanent returning worker exemption.”

Employers can find eligibility and filing details here.

This past December, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 became law and included a provision that provides the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with the discretionary authority to release an additional 64,176 H-2B visas when significant need is demonstrated. The NTRA supports all efforts to make additional visas available to seasonal businesses struggling with labor issues.

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.

Demand for H-2B visas often exceeds their availability and the cap level is quickly reached, leaving employers in need. For the second half of federal fiscal year 2021, DHS announced that by February 12 it had received enough H-2B worker petitions to reach the congressionally mandated cap of 33,000 visas allotted.

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22K Additional H-2B Visas Available for Second Half of Fiscal Year

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Department of Labor issued a joint temporary final rule published Tuesday in the Federal Register that offers 22,000 additional H-2B visas to employers for the second half of the federal fiscal year that ends Sept. 30, 2021. The visas, used by employers such as racehorse trainers seeking seasonal guest workers, are capped at 66,000 annually, with an even split of 33,000 available for each half of the federal government's fiscal year. Six thousand of these supplemental visas will be reserved for nationals of the Northern Triangle countries of Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala.

The H-2B visa guest worker program is a nonimmigrant visa program which trainers rely heavily on to fill various backside positions. Demand for H-2B visas often exceeds their availability and the cap level is quickly reached, leaving employers in need. Employers can find eligibility and filing details here.

The post 22K Additional H-2B Visas Available for Second Half of Fiscal Year appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Help Wanted: Applications Being Accepted For Director Of NTRA Communications

The National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) today announced that it is seeking applications for the position of Director of NTRA Communications.

The Director of NTRA Communications, which will be based in the organization's Lexington, Ky., office, will be responsible for the overall communication efforts of the NTRA while also serving as a clearinghouse and resource for national and industry trade media.

For more details on the position, visit https://www.ntra.com/about/employment/.

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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