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Belmont Meet Generates Handle 20 Percent Higher Than In 2019

The New York Racing Association Inc., (NYRA) announced Wednesday that the Belmont Park spring/summer meet generated $632,208,251 in all sources handle, a 20.6 percent increase over the 2019 spring/summer meet and 63.5 percent above the 2020 spring/summer meet, which was abbreviated to just 25 days because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The spring/summer meet, which began on April 22 without spectators in attendance before reopening to a limited number of spectators on May 1, boasted 59 stakes races worth $16.95 million in total purse money.

Average daily handle over the 48 days of racing was $13,171,005, a 20.6 percent increase over 2019. The abbreviated 2020 spring/summer meet saw average daily handle of $15,466,198.

2021 marked the return of the Belmont Stakes to its customary spot on the racing calendar and its famed distance of 1 1/2 miles. In 2020, a readjustment to the stakes schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic saw the “Test of the Champion” run without spectators in attendance and as the opening leg of the Triple Crown series for the first time in history.

The June 5 Belmont Stakes Day card, highlighted by Essential Quality's heart-pounding victory in the 153rd running of the Grade 1, $1.5 million Belmont Stakes presented by NYRA Bets, generated all-sources handle of $112,725,278; a NYRA record for a non-Triple Crown year.

On-track handle for the 13-race Belmont Stakes Day card, which included eight Grade 1 races among nine total stakes, was $7,532,571.

A total of 454 races were run during the spring/summer meet including 243 on dirt and 211 on the turf. A total of 33 races were taken off the turf due to weather. Average field size over the 454 races was 7.6. This compares to 448 total races run in 2019, including 260 on dirt and 188 on turf. A total of 46 races were taken off the turf due to weather that year. Average field size in 2019 was 7.0.

A total of 248 races were run during the abbreviated 2020 spring/summer meet including 128 on dirt and 120 on the turf. A total of five races were taken off the turf due to weather last year. Average field size over the 248 races was 8.6.

Total on-track handle for the 2021 spring/summer meet was $49,343,664.

The 40-day summer meet at historic Saratoga Race Course, which will feature 76 stakes worth $21.5 million in total purses, will open on Thursday and conclude on Monday, September 6.

For additional information, visit NYRA.com.

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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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Fans, Horsemen Alike Ready To Celebrate ‘Real’ Del Mar Summer

Peter Miller won a fourth Del Mar summer season training title in 2020, equaling the number of fall crowns for him at the place Miller refers to as his “home” track.

But the 55-year-old Encinitas and Manhattan Beach resident readily admits that it didn't feel the same as the other seven. Not in a time in which COVID-19 protocols for most of the meeting required stands empty of all but “essential” personnel and masks on the faces of everyone there in person.

“Last year felt abnormal, weird, very strange, surreal,” Miller said Monday during a break from morning workouts. “You'd win a race and it felt like you'd won a workout.”

Miller won 28 races, eight more than runner-up Phil D'Amato. Six came in stakes, to raise Miller's career total to 38 over the last 14 years. And none of those horses returned to a winner's circle ceremony of picture-taking, reward-presenting, hand-shaking, back-slapping and all-around smiling with success in accordance with decades of racing tradition.

So count Miller, Del Mar Thoroughbred Club CEO Joe Harper, and racetrackers of all sorts, who are looking forward to the return of fans and fanfare when the 82nd summer season commences a 31-day meeting on Friday.

“Real live people, that's terrific,” said Harper, in his 44th year at the track helm. “I spent a lot of time walking around talking to myself last year.

“It's just great. Having people around is what Del Mar is all about. It's not your average racetrack. It's a party, concerts and all the things that make people happy. It was kind of sad out here last year when your handle is $200,000 on track and $25 million off track. That was kind of a fun day, but it was just weird.”

“It's a credit to the whole industry that we got through COVID as well as we did,” said trainer John Sadler, No. 2 for stakes wins (78) in track history. “Now we're all happy and excited about having a return to normal.”

“We had gone through (COVID 2020 protocols) at Santa Anita before we came down here last summer, so we were kind of prepared,” said Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella. “But the stands without fans, the quiet during the races … the weird feeling never went away.”

Billy Koch heads the Little Red Feather racing partnership group, whose all-out-for-fun approach, to racing and life, is especially suited to Del Mar. Little Red Feather's Red King won the Del Mar Handicap and was voted the top grass horse of the meeting but only a handful of partners were able to celebrate on the tarmac down by the rail.

“We love it down here and Del Mar is the premier meeting we point to,” Koch said. “So it was difficult that a lot of our partners and fans couldn't get in to see the horses run. But Del Mar did a good job of getting some in to see the races and we appreciated that.

“We did nothing last year (in the way of pre-meet partying), but we're back this year and champing at the bit. Little Red Feather Nation will be out in force and we're looking forward to a really good meeting.”

Del Mar opens its summer season on a Friday for the third time since 1970 and the sixth time in its history. Before last year's COVID-forced no-count, the official totals were 42,562 on the grounds in 2016 and 11,998 in 1970. The other Friday openings came in 1959 and 1941.

Opening Friday 2021 won't approach 2016 – which ranks as the 10th-highest turnout in track history – but it figures to be a happy contrast to 2020. Del Mar will open with 100% capacity in its seating areas throughout the facility and an approximately 16,000 sellout has been announced. This decision was made in accordance with state and county public health guidelines.

All fans wishing to attend must obtain a seating package in advance of their arrival. Admission tickets and parking passes are included in the package.

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