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Canterbury VP Andrew Offerman Joins Writers’ Room

With smaller tracks gradually disappearing over time, it takes a concerted effort to build a fan customer base that can sustain your business in a non-marquee racing state. Minnesota's Canterbury Park is one of those outliers, a track whose management has put in the work to run a profitable enterprise while managing to attract novice fans and satisfy horseplayers alike, all without the buttressing revenue of slots.

Wednesday morning, Canterbury's VP of Racing Operations Andrew Offerman joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland to talk about the track's blueprint for standing out on a lesser circuit. Calling in as the Green Group Guest of the Week, Offerman discussed the track's decision to drop its Pick 5 takeout to an industry-low 10%, what it's trying to do to attract new owners and trainers and how to still bring fans to the track in 2021.

“We've had a couple different forays into takeout reduction,” Offerman said regarding the successful Pick 5 experiment. “We did some more across-the-board cuts a few years ago, and that didn't work as well as the Pick 5 takeout reduction did. Last year, when we were kind of forced to change our business strategy from being really on-track centric to trying to focus more on off-track betting markets, we knew we had to do something to become more attractive, beyond just running through the middle of the week. So looking at our Pick 5 and trying to do something unique with that wager as it continues to grow in popularity seemed like a good opportunity. The results were great. It enhanced our visibility, did a lot for our other pools around those races and really showed us a new ability to generate interest in a pool that ended up averaging around $80,000, which for us is pretty substantial.”

Faced with the difficulty of drawing owners, trainers and horses to a relatively remote part of the country, Offerman laid out some new incentive programs Canterbury is trying out for the 2021 meet, which starts May 18.

“We've always tried to come up with unique things,” he said. “We realized that when you look at the normal areas that race across the country, Minnesota's not necessarily on their map. So we came up with an early-meet incentive program that gives everyone who starts in an open overnight race an extra $1,000 throughout the month of May to try to help offset the costs of shipping, because we acknowledge that most people have a long van ride to get here from wherever they might be during the winter. We also guarantee stipends per starter over the course of the meet. It's tiered by purse level, but starts at $200 and works its way up from there. We've also been able to offer an interest-free loan program for qualified applicants where people can basically sign a zero-interest shipping loan that they can pay back over the course of the summer.”

Elsewhere in the podcast, the writers responded to the reaction from Bill Finley's critical op/ed about horsemen's groups' suit over HISA, and, in the West Point Thoroughbreds news segment, analyzed the delinquent Ramseys story and positive returns from OBS March. Click here to watch the podcast; click here for the audio-only version.

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OHBPA Fires Back at Belterra’s Attempt to Dismiss ‘Deprived’ VLT Money Suit

The Ohio Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (OHBPA) told a federal judge Mar. 23 that the present and former owners of Belterra Park are attempting to get out from under a $2.7-million lawsuit over gaming revenues that the track allegedly wrongfully withheld between 2014 and 2018 on the grounds that Ohio's statutory construct for racino revenue sharing offers horsemen no legal remedy when they are denied their fair share.

But in fact, the OHBPA states in a memorandum opposing Belterra's motion to dismiss the case, both common law and the state statute are on the side of the horsemen in allowing for exactly the sort of relief the OHBPA is seeking.

That's also what the OHBPA stated in its original Dec. 18 complaint that contended Belterra never made good on a four-year difference between a placeholder rate that was first established for video lottery terminal (VLT) gaming and an eventually revised rate.

The court filing states that the defendants “are holding [$2,769,652] in funds owed to [the OHBPA]. Belterra asserts that no claim can be made, or even exists under the law, so it gets to keep the money. An injury, perhaps, but no available relief, says Belterra. In essence, Belterra acknowledges it is the beneficiary of the windfall, then attempts to find cover from the General Assembly, the Ohio State Racing Commission, and an escrow agreement to which the OHBPA was not a party.”

The OHBPA states that Belterra's theory for dismissing the suit “rises and falls on the faulty notion that the statute at issue–Ohio Revised Code Section 3769.087(C)–essentially 'preempts the field,' and thus leaves a horsemen's association no recourse in cases of mishandled funds or revenue-sharing disputes between race tracks and horsemen. But Belterra has utterly failed to show that the statute forecloses private rights of action or common-law claims, citing no statutory language and no case law requiring such a result.

“Second, the OHBPA's Complaint states valid common-law causes of action upon which relief may be granted,” the filing continues.

“Lastly, the OHBPA states valid claims under a private-right-of-action theory. For these reasons, and those further set forth below, the Court should deny Belterra's Motion to Dismiss.”

Belterra Park itself is named as a defendant, as is the racino's current owner/operator, Boyd Gaming Corporation. Pinnacle Entertainment, Inc., (which, according to the suit, owned Belterra between 2011 and 2018) and Penn National Gaming, Inc. (which, according to the suit, briefly had an ownership interest in Belterra in 2018), are also listed as defendants.

According to the defendants' motion to dismiss filed Feb. 16 in United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio (Eastern Division), the Belterra collective alleged that the “OHBPA has failed to state any viable claims against Defendants. OHBPA's cleverly labeled claims are nothing more than an attempt to plead around the fact that there is no private right of action under the relevant Ohio statute or regulation. Quite simply, OHBPA has no right to receive the “catch up” payments and only the Racing Commission is authorized to enforce [the relevant state codes] and the Resolution.”

According to the OHBPA's complaint, when VLT gaming was first legalized by Ohio in 2009, the state authorized racinos to retain 66.5% of revenues, with “between 9% and 11%” of those net-win proceeds to then be paid to Thoroughbred and Standardbred entities.

Those percentages were set five years before any actual VLT gaming happened at Belterra, and in 2012 the state authorized the Ohio State Racing Commission to set the actual rate that would go to purses, based upon that 9-11% range. But until a new, firm, rate got set, 9% was to be used as the placeholder to determine purse proceeds.

“At all relevant times, the OHBPA and Belterra Park each understood that, pursuant to the statute, the actual percentage rate was to be set at some future time, and that Belterra Park would need to make a 'true-up' payment to the OHBPA for any difference between the 9% placeholder rate and a statutorily-set rate that was greater than 9%,” the suit contended.

Belterra didn't open for VLT gaming until May 1, 2014, largely because the former track known as River Downs was undergoing a substantial renovation to rebrand the property as Belterra Park Gaming & Entertainment Center. The capital expenditures for that project were to be a factor in determining the new calculation rate for purse money, but the suit alleged Belterra stalled and tried to overstate the costs it incurred fixing up the property.

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Guild’s Request to Hold off on Strict Monmouth Whip Rules Denied by NJ Commission

An attempt by The Jockeys' Guild to get the New Jersey Racing Commission (NJRC) to hold off on implementing the most restrictive anti-whipping rules in the nation until an appeal gets decided in court failed Wednesday when the NJRC voted that the Guild couldn't show that not imposing a stay would create irreparable harm or hardship to riders, horses and the public.

So when the Monmouth Park meet opens May 28, whipping a Thoroughbred will not be allowed by any New Jersey jockey or exercise rider except for the express purpose of ensuring the immediate safety of the horse or rider.

Back on Sep. 16, the NJRC voted 4-0 to implement three new rules that made the state the first in the nation to ban whipping beyond protection in an emergency situation. It was decided at the time to hold off implementing them until the start of the 2021 season.

If a jockey or exercise rider uses the riding crop in a manner contrary to the new rules, he or she will be subject to a fine, suspension, or forfeiture of the jockey's share of the purse “if, in the opinion of the stewards, the unauthorized use of the whip caused the horse to achieve a better placing.”

On Nov. 5, the Guild filed a notice of appeal in Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, based on the position that the Guild's comments and concerns were not considered during the rulemaking process. The Guild also claimed that the NJRC rushed through adopting rules that are unsafe for the horses and jockeys while creating a “dangerous precedent” that is inconsistent with any other jurisdiction in America.

“This is, indisputably, the harshest restriction in the nation. It's more restrictive than the racing crop rules in neighboring states,” said Nancy Del Pizzo, a New Jersey-based attorney representing the Guild, during the Mar. 24 NJRC teleconference meeting. “This rule is like no other rule in the nation regarding abuse of the crop.”

Del Pizzo said that implementation of the new rules could trigger a “domino effect” of economic harm based on jockeys and horse owners not wanting to race at Monmouth. She claimed that Monmouth might not even be able to fill 12-horse races because so few jockeys will be based in New Jersey this year, and that the adverse financial effects that stem from not being able to whip horses will trickle down to farms and agricultural businesses. She expressed a belief that racing might even have to shut down over the new whip rules.

Del Pizzo said that in terms being able to differentiate between a jockey's use of the whip for safety (which is allowed) or for encouraging a horse to run faster (which is not), “there's just no way the stewards will be able to comprehend these instances.”

Del Pizzo contended the NJRC voted in the new rules contrary to a state law on quorums because only four members are seated on the commission instead of the required nine. She also said that since the rules are not yet in effect, maintaining the status quo makes sense while the court appeal is pending.

Del Pizzo additionally expressed dismay that the NJRC did not allow jockeys to address the commission on this issue during Wednesday's meeting.

Steven Gleeson, a deputy attorney general who advises the NJRC, said that “The request for a stay simply hasn't shown any irreparable harm that would come about [by] having the new rules go forward this spring when racing reopens. Basically, what they've been arguing is that this rule is different from other jurisdictions. Well that's not irreparable harm.”

As for the jockeys' concerns about safety, Gleeson said, “The rules themselves directly address safety. They permit the use of riding crops when necessary for the safety of the rider or the horse.”

Gleeson also said that the Guild and riders did indeed participate in the public commentary process, and that some of their concerns did, in fact, make it into the final versions of the rules.

Gleeson said the Guild's court appeal has no likelihood of success on legal merits, and that the quorum issue is moot because common-law rule states that a majority of however many members are seated on the board is what constitutes a quorum.

Just prior to the vote, NJRC chairperson Pamela Clyne argued that the commission couldn't just roll back the rules to those that were in place previously.

“When the commission adopted the new rules we repealed the prior rules, which prohibited using the riding crop in an abusive or reckless manner,” Clyne said. “If the commission grants the stay, there will not be any rule in place to protect the horses from the use of the riding crop.”

Commissioner Glen Vetrano said he was disturbed to learn via the Guild's attorney that jockeys who had wanted to testify during the meeting were told they couldn't.

Judith Nason, the NJRC's executive director, replied that the jockeys had been excluded on the advice of the NJRC's counsel based on the determination that the Guild's attorney would be representing them at the meeting.

“We're not tying the hands of jockeys,” Vetrano said, emphasizing that safety usage is still permitted. “And I hope that [stewards] allow them to use that riding crop [for safety] when need be.”

Clyne made a motion for the NJRC to reject the request of the stay. She voted yes, to keep the rules in place, as did Vetrano and commissioner Francis Keegan, Jr.

When Nason asked commissioner Michael Arnone for his vote, he replied, “I don't understand the vote here. To deny it is a no vote?”

No one corrected Arnone or made any clarification that a yes vote was required to deny the stay. It was unclear how his vote was counted; Nason only said, “The motion carries.”

TDN asked Del Pizzo via email after the meeting to comment on the decision. She replied that the Jockeys' Guild “is unable to respond while involved in litigation.”

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MG Warrior Retired, to Stand in Arkansas

M G Warrior (Majestic Warrior-Marvel Gaye, by Bowman's Band) has been retired from racing to stand his first season at stud at Charter Oak Farm LLC in Hot Springs, Arkansas. He will stand as property of Chrysalis Stables LLC for an introductory fee of $750 for the 2021 breeding season.

Trained by Brad Cox, M G Warrior won five of 17 starts before retiring with earnings of $298,226. The bay broke his maiden going 1 1/16 miles at Fair Grounds and then recorded four wins against allowance and allowance/optional claiming company at Churchill Downs and Oaklawn at distances from six furlongs to 1 1/16 miles.

“M G Warrior was a very nice horse to train and be around,” said Cox. “He was a solid runner and would be a nice fit in the Arkansas breeding program.”

For more information, contact Shea Stuart at (405) 226-0589 or Jill Neece at (561) 289-9323.

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