Indiana Standardbred Advisory Board & Fair Race Secretaries Meeting Notes
Date: January 5, 2008
Please note: These are NOT official minutes of the meeting. They are notes developed by our representative attending the meeting.
The annual meeting of the Indiana Standardbred Advisory Board (ISAB) and Indiana Fair Race Secretaries took place on Saturday, January 5, 2008, in Indianapolis, Indiana. This is the meeting where the year’s fair schedule is traditionally decided. In addition, locations for the “Elite” Series Trot & Pace events at the fairs are also established.
ISAB Chairman Scott Snyder called the meeting to order at 2:00 p.m. He began by having those in attendance introduce themselves and briefly state their involvement in the industry. This included those in the audience, as well as the board members. In addition to Snyder, board members Dwayne Rhule, Pam Cross, Randy Dever, and Tim Graber were in attendance. Byron Hooley was not present at the meeting.
The first item on the agenda was approval of the minutes from the last meeting of the ISAB, held November 9, 2007. As a part of the approval process, Snyder asked the board for discussion and consideration of any changes needed to the minutes. The board members did not see any changes necessary to the minutes, so they were approved unanimously.
Deviating from the planned agenda slightly, Snyder introduced attorney Roger Young. He was a member of a group making a presentation for the Hoosier Horse Park, located in Johnson County. Young explained the facility, which was originally created to host the equestrian events for the Pan-America Games, has become a quality horse facility to use for various equine functions.
The park has a good deal of unused, yet usable, acreage. Since their focus is on horses, Young said his group would like to find a way to be involved in the horse racing industry. The park has space for a 5/8 mile track and barns for at least 100 horses. Young said he also feels the park has adequate facilities to host a sale.
Young concluded his comments by summarizing what the park has to offer. He said they have the land, management expertise, and a workforce understanding of the needs of horsemen. While foreign to the Standardbred breed, Young said he believes they have a great deal of experience in the horse industry. “We are here today to let the board know what we have to offer and see if there is any way to partner with the Standardbred industry,” stated Young.
Another representative from the park then took the opportunity to address the group. He explained the facility currently hosts around 75 horse shows each year. In addition, he described the various arenas and courses available. Noting there are 324 stalls on the grounds, he said the total facility is 640 acres.
Ron DeBaun (Shelby County) asked the park representatives if they would be interested in hosting a 2 or 3 day race meet. The answer was brief and concise, stated as, “Yes, if we can get the facilities.”
Chairman Snyder then asked for the role they envision for the ISAB. The park representatives stated they would need assistance in funding for a track and other related facilities. In addition, they could need more staff.
Rhule asked about equipment available for maintaining a racetrack. This question was directed to Jeff Sutton with the park. Sutton noted they have tractors and equipment that could be used to move dirt and maintain the track surface.
While he had the floor, Sutton explained his vision for the future of the park. As part of his dialogue, he highlighted the economic benefit to the area from the horse industry. He noted the money spent locally on fuel, meals, lodging, etc. When considering the future, he said he would like to see the park expanded to possibly include features like a veterinary facility.
Cross asked if there is a possibility of turning it into a year around training facility. The park representatives agreed it was certainly a possibility, if that is the need. In summary, the park wants to be a part of the horse industry.
Snyder then offered a brief recap of the discussion so far. He thanked the park representatives for taking the time to come to the meeting and share the parks features and goals. Noting the board would need additional time to think about what had been presented, he asked for contact information to use for further discussion. This was given for all those from the park, as well as the main number for the park itself.
Returning to the agenda for the meeting, Snyder turned the floor over to Jessica Barnes, Director of Standardbred Racing – IHRC, to discuss the Indiana Sired Fair Circuit (ISFC).
The first part of ISFC discussion involved the 2008 Fair Dates. Barnes’ assistant, Kelly Roush, had been working on a preliminary schedule, which was shared with those attending the meeting.
After much consideration, the following TENTATIVE schedule was established:
Converse: June 17 & 18 at 11:00 a.m.
Shelbyville: June 23 & 24 at 11:00 a.m.Shelbyville: June 30, July 1 & 2 at 11:00 a.m.
Frankfort: July 7 & 8 at 4:00 p.m.
Kendallville: July 12 at 10 a.m.
Indiana State Fairgrounds: July 15 & 16 at 11:00 a.m.
Goshen: July 19, 21 & 22 at 11:00 a.m.
LaPorte: July 25 at 11:00 a.m. CDT
Kentland: July 26 at 12:00 p.m. CDT
Connersville: July 29 & 30 at 11:00 a.m.
Portland: July 30 at 11:00 a.m.
Corydon: July 31 & August 1 at 1:00 p.m.
Converse: August 5 & 6 at 11:00 a.m.
Portland: August 9 at 11:00 a.m.
Indiana State Fair Finals: August 14 & 15 at 11:00 a.m.
Grand Circuit at Indiana State Fair: August 16 at 10:00 a.m.
Barnes and Roush will work with Portland and Connersville to work out the schedule conflict arising from their fair dates for this year.
The next issue related to the ISFC was purse structure for 2008. Barnes explained this was going to be the same as the prior year. A copy of the conditions was included in the information distributed to those attending the meeting. Since there were no changes to the conditions, there was nothing to go over or highlight for the board.
The board then discussed the promotional funding for the fairs. Currently, the budget allocates $2,500 for use at each fair for each day of racing. This is used to prepare for the races, pay officials, etc. The board asked for feedback from the fair representatives, asking if it is working. Snyder asked those receiving the funding to speak up and share their experience.
Earl Kiefert (LaPorte County) said a 1 day fair that is a long day with many races gets charged more for a day by those working than a race day with fewer events. He asked the board to take that into consideration when establishing the budget for the upcoming year. DeBaun agreed with Kiefert, asking for an increase in funding to help cover the rising costs of fuel, etc. that are impacting the cost of hosting the races.
The board then reviewed their advertising program. Last year, the board offered funding of up to $500 to advertise the races at the fairs. Snyder asked those who had taken advantage of the funds if it had helped. Ron Chapman (LaPorte County) explained how his fair had used the funds to run a large advertisement in the local paper every other day to advertise the races. He noted an increase in attendance at their races last year. However, Chapman admitted, “I’m not sure if it was a result of the advertising, but it helped…”
Snyder noted some fairs did not take advantage of the offer to provide funding to advertise. Moreover, he encouraged them to take part in the program this year. Snyder suggested getting with the ISAB soon, while things are a little slower, to make plans for their advertising this year.
As a part of promotions, Barnes asked if giveaways in the grandstands help at all with attendance. Those responding felt they are a good idea and people like to get free stuff. However, the items should be geared to the spectators and not distributed to the horsemen as much. When asking for the type of items for distribution, the majority of those commenting felt t-shirts and hats worked best, as cups, etc. usually find their way to a shelf somewhere.
The next item on the agenda was the 2008 “Elite” Series. These are feature races held at the county fairs. Sam Hedington was present to handle deciding the venues for these events. Prior beginning the process, Hedington noted a couple of changes to the race conditions. First, he said Indianapolis was added to the conditions as a location for hosting an “Elite” event. This would be during their regular races, not during the ISFC Finals. Second, there will be no limit on the number of starters required to contest an event. Even if there are only 1 or 2 horses entered, the race will go as scheduled.
With Indianapolis included, there are now 11 fairs, but only 8 “Elite” events. LaPorte had previously asked not to be considered for hosting an event. In addition, Linda Dever (Indiana State Fair) voluntarily withdrew Indianapolis as a potential “Elite” location. Since Goshen had not drawn an event in 2007, they were guaranteed one this year. This was true even though they had assumed the event originally scheduled at Kendallville in 2007 and did host an “Elite” race. Hedington explained this was what had been decided by the race sponsor. The remaining 8 fairs were then drawn from an envelope and allowed to choose the race they would like to host.
The 2008 “Elite” Series will be held at the following locations:
Elite 2CP – Converse
Elite 2FP – Kentland
Elite 2CT – Connersville
Elite 2FT – Goshen
Elite 3CP – Corydon
Elite 3FP – Frankfort
Elite 3CT – Portland
Elite 3FT – Shelbyville
The next item on the agenda was the 2007 Awards Banquet. This event will be held on Saturday, February 9, at Indiana Downs. A ticket order form is now available on the IHRC Web site, with a link to it highlighted via Hoosier Hoofprints.
Barnes explained the ISAB will be giving awards to the overall divisional Indiana Sires Stakes (ISS) Champions, Sires of the divisional champions, and Trotting & Pacing Sire of the Year. Barnes and Roush have been looking at some new and unique awards for this year. One option considered is a woven blanket featuring a win picture of each horse. Described as fun and unique, Barnes noted they were trying to do something a little different for the award recipients.
Continuing to follow the agenda, the next item was possible seminars. Barnes explained that past seminars have included official’s seminars and promotional seminars. She shared a recent contact from Ellen Harvey (Harness Racing Communications) offering to conduct a seminar, at the expense of the United States Trotting Association (USTA). Harvey would come to Indiana to meet with the fair representatives, showing them ways to get additional publicity for their fair. Harness racing is not often a part of the mainstream media; however, Harvey’s presentation includes ideas to help with this problem.
When Barnes asked for input, Stacey Ruddick offered some comments. She encouraged the board to pursue having Harvey come to make her presentation, noting Harvey has ideas for promoting fairs on all sizes of budgets. Ruddick told the group it was one of Harvey’s ideas which led her to contact the local papers of the top ISS horses heading into the finals last year. With enough encouragement, some of those publications did opt to run stories on the horses and their connections. Ruddick mentioned a booklet available with Harvey’s presentation which contains an array of useful promotional ideas.
Barnes then asked when would be a good time to schedule such a seminar, as Harvey indicated she has quite a bit of availability at this time. Cross suggested trying to schedule the event before things become too hectic with the racing season. Roush also suggested looking into conducting the seminar via teleconferencing at local Purdue Extension offices. This would allow those participating to go to their local branch to take part in the seminar, without the need to travel so far. The group decided to consider a number of options and select a location at a later time.
The next topic for discussion was 2008 ISS Dates. When deciding the dates for these events, Barnes noted some things taken into consideration. Staying away from the opening at Indiana Downs was the first item needed. This would avoid the pitfall of needing to qualify for the events when no opportunity may be available. For the 2-year-olds, the week following the first leg of the events was skipped. The gap created would allow horses to re-qualify before the next leg, if necessary. Avoiding the week of the fair at Goshen was important for 3-year-olds, as their feature events are a part of the Hoosier Home Run. For both age groups, staying away from the week of the Indiana State Fair was needed to allow those horses an option of racing in the Grand Circuit events. In addition, potential yearling sale dates were taken into consideration when deciding the schedule.
Representatives from the Indiana yearling sales were at the last meeting, where this was all decided. Since then, Tim Konkle (Indiana Standardbred Sales Company) had indicated he was unhappy with the dates for the ISS events.
Snyder spoke up, saying the ISAB does their best to work with the sales companies, but ultimately it is their own responsibility. Ruddick offered another idea. She suggested giving the sales companies contact information for the people from the Hoosier Horse Park, which had spoken earlier, to see about utilizing their facility. Snyder noted this was a good idea and could provide some options.
A motion was then made to approve the 2008 dates, as listed. When put to a vote, it passed unanimously.
Barnes then shared the 2009 Breed Development proposal which, if approved by the Indiana Horse Racing Commission (IHRC), would affect the ISFC conditions. Barnes explained the structural changes in the proposal for the 2009 breeding season, impacting the foals of 2010. Breed Development made their decision knowing they only control the funding. The race conditions are up to the ISAB.
Snyder explained how the fairs are a type of balancing act. There is a challenge of providing racing opportunities, but not overloading the fairs to the point the numbers of the events get out of control. In Snyder’s opinion, the Indiana Sired and Bred (ISB) restriction could be factored in to keeping the numbers in check.
Rhule said he feels the change in the conditions is an economic incentive to keep horses in Indiana. He described it as a self-directed program which would help those currently racing at the fairs, as the past few years show it has mainly been ISB horses racing at the fairs.
Graber stated he has been on both sides of the fairs, noting he has raced in the events and handled the races at Goshen. Thus, he knows the issue of dealing with lots of races. He said supports the idea of keeping the fairs in check and helping those currently racing there.
Chapman added he would like to see the purses for ALL races go for the $2,300, as opposed to lower for certain sized fields, before seeing the overall purses raised for the fairs. Snyder and Cross both complimented him, stating it was a very good point.
When considering the ISB restriction, Cross asked if there was going to be a way to track and monitor the participants to make sure the horses meet the requirements. Barnes responded by saying, “If the IHRC approves the proposal, they will adopt rules and hire personnel to go out into the field and check the horses.”
Snyder then made a motion to approve the changes to the ISFC conditions. It was seconded and passed unanimously.
As part of their 2008 proposal, the ISAB needed to finalize their budget. Taking into account the earlier discussion of increasing the promotional money, Barnes noted she had worked through some numbers to share. She said moving the promotional money up to $3,000 would result in a $14,000 increase in the budget. Cross noted other items in the 2007 budget had come in low, so there is some money in reserve. She then made a motion to increase the promotional money from $2,500 to $3,000 per day for the fairs, which passed unanimously.
Barnes said she would amend the proposal to include this change and asked them to make a motion to approve the proposal. Rhule made the motion to submit it to the IHRC, with the amendment. It was seconded and passed unanimously. The proposal will be on the agenda for the next IHRC meeting, scheduled for January 23, 2008.
As part of New Business, Barnes noted Kevin Mack will available more this summer to serve in any roles needed for the fairs. He holds a number of different racing official licenses which could be beneficial to the fairs.
Chapman also recommended a young person who has worked at LaPorte as an announcer. He offered to put anyone interested in contact with him.
With no further business to conduct, the meeting was adjourned.