The Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (HBPA) chapters at both tracks supported the diminished schedules based on available purse funds and projected horse populations.

Right now the placeholders are 158 dates for Charles Town and 121 for Mountaineer.

But the exact number of programs will ultimately be contingent on the outcome of several overlapping federal lawsuits that have to do with the legality of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA).

In July of 2022, the states of West Virginia and Louisiana won a preliminary injunction that has kept the HISA rules from being implemented in those two states until their lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of HISA gets decided in full.

Then in September of 2023, the judge handling that case ordered it to be “administratively terminated” until the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals made a ruling in a separate (but related) suit in which the National HBPA is also alleging that HISA is unconstitutional.

Oral arguments in the HBPA vs. HISA case were heard Oct. 4 but no Fifth Circuit decision has been issued yet.

WVRC executive director Joe Moore explained during the Dec. 13 meeting that if HISA were to be deemed legal nationwide and/or the court's injunction barring implementation in West Virginia got lifted, both tracks would need to recalculate how much purse money was available and how many racing dates those funds could cover.

That's because Charles Town and Mountaineer would be subject to HISA assessments for safety oversight and drug testing services that they currently don't pay because of the injunction that grants them an exception.

According to HISA's 2024 budget, West Virginia's assessment for next year is $4,448,269 (Charles Town $3,281,367; Mountaineer $1,166,902).

Moore said that “if HISA were to become effective in West Virginia, I suspect Charles Town and the horsemen would consider reducing their race days by a number to ensure that there were purse monies available after the [HISA] assessments were calculated for them.”

Charles Town's director of racing, Charlie McIntosh, concurred.

“If HISA were to come back into effect, we'd have to sit down and evaluate” funding options, McIntosh said.

Mountaineer gate | Coady Photography

No representative from Mountaineer spoke on the track's behalf during the meeting.

The two tracks handled their dates reduction requests differently. Charles Town asked for and received 158 dates but left the door open to come back to the commission for a further reduction request if necessary.

Mountaineer took the opposite approach, asking for and receiving the commission's approval for two dates contingencies so the track wouldn't have to come back a second time to request another trim if HISA gets legalized in the state.

So the WVRC approved 121 dates for Mountaineer, with Moore explaining that “if feasible and [if West Virginia continues to] remain exempt from HISA, their number of live race days would increase to 128.”

Moore said Mountaineer's season would run Apr. 28-Dec. 4 under the first contingency, with the meet extending through Dec. 11 if the second plan got utilized.

Charles Town's 2024 schedule, according to the track's website, will consist of four- and three-date weeks nearly year-round, with breaks Aug. 25-Sept. 11 and Dec. 15-31.

Charles Town's 158 dates for 2024 continues a downward trend. The track was awarded 164 dates in 2023 and 179 in 2022.

Unless Mountaineer ends up running the bumped-up 128 dates, its 121-date allotment also represents a decrease, from 124 dates in 2023 and 130 dates in 2022.

(All dates cited above are based on dates as originally assigned by the commission, and do not reflect any in-season program losses that might have occurred because of weather cancellations.)

Even in years when the costs of HISA assessments have not been in play, the awarding of race dates in West Virginia has been a somewhat confusing several-step process. A state statute requires Charles Town to apply for 220 programs every year, and Mountaineer is required to apply for 210 dates. But those quotas haven't been reached for quite some time.

What has ended up happening in recent seasons is that after the initial approvals of those mandated 220 and 210 dates every November by the WVRC, both venues have subsequently come back before the commission to ask for reductions that reflect what each track and its HBPA representatives think is a workable schedule.

The dates reduction votes were unanimous Dec. 13, with WVRC chairman Ken Lowe Jr. and commissioner J.B. Akers voting in the affirmative, while commissioner Tony Figaretti was listed as being absent from the meeting because of a travel conflict.

The post West Virginia Trims Dates For ’24, Exact Schedules Hinge On Outcome of HISA Legality appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Although it's tough at this stage to get a consensus on what might happen with HISA over the next six weeks until an expected Jan. 10 mandate gets issued by the Fifth Circuit to enforce its order (petitions for legal stays, rehearings, or potential actions by Congress are all in play), there is one issue that HISA proponents and opponents seem to agree on: If the Sixth Circuit renders an opinion that is in direct conflict with the one the Fifth Circuit just came up with, HISA's fate could very well end up getting decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.

In the Sixth Circuit case, the plaintiffs are the state of Louisiana; Oklahoma and its racing commission, plus West Virginia and its racing commission. Three Oklahoma tracks-Remington Park, Will Rogers Downs, and Fair Meadows-are also plaintiffs, as are the Oklahoma Quarter Horse Association, the U.S. Trotting Association, and Hanover Shoe Farms, a Pennsylvania Standardbred breeding entity.

The defendants are the United States of America, the HISA Authority, and six individuals acting in their official capacities for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

On Apr. 26, 2021, the plaintiffs had sued, alleging that “HISA gives a private corporation broad regulatory authority.” On June 2, 2022, that claim was dismissed by a judge in U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Kentucky (Lexington) for failure to state a claim of action. The plaintiffs then appealed to the U.S. Sixth Circuit.

While that Sixth Circuit appeal was pending, the Fifth Circuit came out with its decision in the similar case against HISA that was led by the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (NHBPA).

That Nov. 18 ruling stated that HISA is unconstitutional because it “delegates unsupervised government power to a private entity,” and thus “violates the private non-delegation doctrine.” The order remanded the case back to U.S. District Court (Northern District of Texas) for “further proceedings consistent with” the Appeals Court's reversal.

So naturally, both parties prepping for the Dec. 7 oral arguments in the Sixth Circuit case wanted to let that court know of this similar U.S. Appeals Court order, with each side putting its own spin on the recently issued unconstitutionality decision.

The plaintiffs/appellants led off with a Nov. 21 filing.

“The Fifth Circuit reversed the Northern District of Texas's decision on which Defendants-Appellees and the district court below relied, and the court emphatically rejected the very arguments that Defendants-Appellees assert in defense of HISA here,” the document stated.

“The Fifth Circuit held that HISA violates the Constitution's private nondelegation doctrine because 'the Authority is not subordinate to the FTC' [and] 'Congress has given a private entity the last word over what rules govern our nation's Thoroughbred horseracing industry' [and the] 'Authority's power outstrips any private delegation the Supreme Court or our court has allowed.'”

The plaintiffs' filing summed up: “The Fifth Circuit cogently rejected all of the arguments that Defendants-Appellees' raise here. This Court should do the same and reverse the judgment of the district court.”

The U.S., HISA and FTC defendants had a different interpretation in their own Nov. 28 filing.

“The Fifth Circuit panel's decision to invalidate HISA rests on at least two fundamentally mistaken premises,” the pro-HISA reply stated.

“First, the panel determined that 'the FTC's consistency review does not include reviewing the substance of the rules themselves.' That is untrue: HISA requires the FTC to apply its independent judgment in reviewing the substance of all proposed rules for consistency with HISA's standards.

“Whether characterized as an exercise of policy discretion or evaluation for statutory compliance, the FTC (not the Authority) ultimately decides, e.g., if a proposed medication amount is 'the minimum necessary to address the diagnosed health concerns identified during the examination and diagnostic process,' or if a proposed racetrack-safety standard is 'consistent with the humane treatment of covered horses…'”

“Second, the panel determined that the FTC lacks power to modify HISA rules,” the pro-HISA filing continued. “That contradicts (without addressing) the FTC's interpretation of its independent rulemaking authority [and] turns constitutional avoidance on its head….”

The pro-HISA reply summed up: “For both reasons, the Fifth Circuit panel's decision is wrong-and stands at odds with not only the two other federal courts that have upheld HISA, but also 80 years of precedent from the Supreme Court [and] the courts of appeals.”

The post HISA Opponents Spar On Fifth Circuit’s Unconstitutionality Ruling appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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His top runners were Confucius Say, who won four West Virginia Breeders Classics races, and Julie B, who earned close to $900,000 on the track.

Funkhouser was on the board of directors for the Charles Town HBPA and served as the group's president for a total of 16 years across various terms. He was also the vice president of the West Virginia Thoroughbred Breeders Association. Funkhouser was a founding member and organizer of the Charles Town Racetrack Chaplaincy.

A graduate of Stanford University, Funkhouser returned to his native Jefferson County, WVa., after college to run O'Sullivan with his mother Ruth and mentor Frank Gall.

Funkhouser often went to the mat for the state's horse racing industry and agricultural interests with various community leaders and state legislators.

“He wanted this industry to thrive,” Joe Funkhouser, son of Randy, told The Journal. “There would be no horse racing in West Virginia without my dad.”

Randy Funkhouser is survived by his wife Clissy, son Joe, and daughter Kate Brown, as well as a grandson and a sister. Funeral arrangements are pending.

Read more at The Journal.

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That declaration was made by Ken Lowe, the chairman of the West Virginia Racing Commission, as approximately 150 friends and business acquaintances gathered Monday afternoon at the Middleburg Community Center in Middleburg, Va. to pay tribute to Robert Lee “Sam” Huff. The Pro Football Hall of Fame football player and Thoroughbred owner and breeder died Nov. 13 from complications of dementia in Winchester, Va.

Lowe was one of several speakers at the service, which was held just a few furlongs from the farm where Huff lived on with his longtime partner Carol Holden.

Among them was J.W. Marriott, Jr., the 89-year-old executive chairman of Marriott International, who fondly recalled Huff's long association

with the company as the vice president for special markets. He told the story about Huff's persistent request for one of the parking spots at Marriott headquarters that were reserved for Marriott board members. Shortly after Mr. Marriott granted Huff's wish, several other vice presidents complained. So, Mr. Marriott told those who complained that those spots were reserved “for board members and anyone else in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.”

Leonard Shapiro, a former sports writer and editor at The Washington Post, who co-authored Huff's autobiography “Tough Stuff,” talked about Huff's upbringing in a coal mining camp near Farmington, WV.

Frank Herzog, one of Huff's longtime radio broadcast partners covering the Washington Redskins, shared tales of their time together in press boxes across the country. (Huff spent more than 30 years as a broadcaster for the team.)

The 35th edition of the West Virginia Breeders Classics, co-founded by Holden and Huff in 1987, was held Oct. 9. The event has now generated more than $29 million in purses for the breeders and horsemen of West Virginia. In recent years, Huff served as the chairman emeritus; Holden still serves as president.

Lowe read an official resolution honoring Huff from the West Virginia Racing Commission that read in part:

“Sam Huff's efforts grew the West Virginia Breeders Classics into a premier event, bringing local and national television coverage to showcase the State of West Virginia, Jefferson County, Charles Town and the hard working people of the racing and breeding industries of West Virginia…The West Virginia Racing Commission would like to issue this resolution in honor of Sam Huff for his support, contributions and unwavering dedication to the Thoroughbred racing industry, the West Virginia Racing Commission and the State of West Virginia.”

Also in attendance was trainer Graham Motion, who trained Huff's stakes-winning filly Bursting Forth.

The service concluded with some personal remarks from Huff's namesake and grandson Robert Lee Huff III and music provided by the Mount Pisgah Baptist Church's gospel chorus.

Contributions in Huff's name may be made to Aftercare Charles Town, PO Box 136, Ranson, WV 25438. The 501(c)(3) organization is responsible for rehoming Thoroughbred racehorses that have raced at Charles Town.

The post Friends, Associates Pay Tribute to Sam Huff at Memorial Service appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Such a panic in other places would not on the scale as it was in Kentucky, where 60,000 direct and indirect jobs, $5.2 billion in economic impact, and $15 million in fiscal year 2020 for the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund purses were at stake.

To avoid a legislative scramble, building relationship with legislators and policy makers should be in the DNA of everyone associated with racing. It is hard to believe in a place with iconic tracks like Churchill and Keeneland plus the home base of major racing organizations that relationship-building was not an ongoing activity.

Being unprepared is not an option. In today's environment where everything is controversial, it is vital that an infrastructure is in place to influence the outcome of legislative, regulatory or policy issues.

Preparation is the key to success. The absolute first step is to make certain everyone involved from the front office of a racetrack to the backstretch knows who their own legislators are.

A few quick ideas to build legislative relations I have used over the years: introductory meetings, staying in touch, working in political campaigns, attending fundraisers, town hall meetings and other events honoring the legislator. Seek out their opinion, look for ways to mention/publicize the legislator, invite them to meetings and events, give them awards, send out photos to local and social media.

The final important point: do not wait until you need something to get in touch.

Bill Phillips operates Phillips Strategy a consulting firm and he is a former West Virginia Racing Commissioner, Chief of Staff to WV Governor & Members of Congress. Phillips also served as an executive to professional associations, managing their legislative relations.

The post Phillips: Let Kentucky’s HHR Fight Be A Warning To Others; Forge Contacts With Legislators Now appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Bocachica led all North American jockeys with 10 wins from 20 mounts.

The Puerto Rican native started his winning week on Thursday with five victories at Hollywood Casino at Charles Town, his home track. He continued his winning hand on Friday with two victories. Bocachica topped off his week on Saturday night by winning three stakes races during the West Virginia Breeders' Classics, the biggest night for West Virginia-bred horses. He won the West Virginia Tourism Stakes with Star of the Night ($2.40), the West Virginia Triple Crown Stakes aboard That Kenney Kid ($6.40) and the West Virginia Thoroughbred Breeders Association Breeders' Classic Stakes with Penguin Power ($2.40).  He also finished third in the West Virginia Vincent Moscarelli Memorial Breeders' Classic with Pilot in Command all for leading trainer Jeff Runco. 

In addition to a 50% win percentage, fan favorite Bocachica also hit the board with 65% of his mounts and accumulated $190,380 in purse earnings. He currently sits atop the jockey standings at Charles Town by a wide margin with 136 victories and more than $2.3 million in purses.

The post Bocachica Named Jockey Of The Week After Winning Half His Races appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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“One thing I learned is not to panic, because panic can make it a lot worse,” said the young jockey. “I go out there and there's no fear. The day that I'm scared to do what I do, is the day I need to stop.”

“I thought I was going to fall,” he said. “To be completely hoenst with you, this is one of my main stables and I knew we had a really good shot to win the race. I was going to do everything I could to stay on this horse. The only thing I felt behind me was the eight horse, so I just sort of pushed off him and pushed back in[to the saddle].

“It was a ride, all right.”

Serrano said he was able to work his feet back into the stirrups while remaining mindful of the colt's mouth, not wanting to balance against the reins and check the horse.

In the end, his patience paid off – Serrano finished third, just a nose behind runner-up Juliano.

“I came into the race with all the confidence in the world in this horse,” he said. “Up until we did finish the race, I thought I was going to get the second.”

It isn't the first time he's used this move of pushing off a rival to pop himself back in the tack – just last year, he found himself in a similar position out of the gate in a turf race at Mountaineer and got himself righted again.

Cheating gravity is all in a day's work for Serrano, 22, who said he's living out a longtime dream of becoming a professional jockey. Growing up in Puerto Rico, Serrano said he always had horses and had hoped to go through the island's popular Escuela Vocacional Hípica, but found he ultimately didn't qualify. He moved to New York at the age of 18 and wandered the backstretch looking for someone to give him a job as an exercise rider. He had never galloped a horse before, but didn't mention that.

“I had never touched a racehorse in my life,” he said. “I went around telling people, 'Yeah, I'm an exercise rider.' I'd ridden horses before, just not racehorses. I'm 18, I'm thinking it's the same thing. I remember getting on horses and the first one I got on was a tank – big, tall. I had never been that high off the ground. Of course, it ran off with me. I didn't know what I was doing.”

That was in September 2016. Serrano later went to Ocala, as many aspiring jockeys do, to sharpen his skills with young horses just learning themselves. He got his license and began riding in March 2017.

Serrano said he learned to ride Thoroughbreds by feel. Horses were not a foreign language to him. As a kid, he studied jockeys on television and picked up a $100 horse to practice riding, honing his position as best he could from what he saw. By the time he got to New York, his sense of balance was well-developed, as was his sense of horsemanship.

Serrano said he still maintains contact with one particular four-legged teacher back home in Puerto Rico – a filly out of a mare he rescued when she was pregnant. The mare foaled uneventfully, but not long after that, things started to get complicated.

“At about two and a half months old, the mare started rejecting the foal and I had no idea why,” he said. “I finally pulled her away and started bottle feeding her until she could nibble on grass, on grain. She'd follow me around my hometown like a puppy. I could take her to the beach and run around, she'd jump in the water with me. That was pretty cool.

“Before I left Puerto Rico, I had five horses. I sold them all except her. I donated her to this place in San Juan where they could use her as a therapy horse for kids with special needs. I thought that was something she could fit perfectly in. I get updates on her — she's three now and she does her job very well.”

These days, Serrano can be found predominantly at Mountaineer, where his unconventional route to the saddle is paying off — he's the meet leader by earnings.

The post ‘It Was A Ride, All Right’: Serrano Gets Himself Out Of Sticky Spot In Mountaineer Ride appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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