Indiana Standardbred Advisory Board Meeting Notes
Date: June 18, 2007
Please note: These are NOT official minutes of the meeting. They are notes developed by our representative attending the meeting.
The Indiana Standardbred Advisory Board (ISAB) met at the Indiana State Fairgrounds on Monday, June 18, 2007. Scott Snyder called the meeting to order. He began the meeting by introducing the new board members recently appointed by Governor Mitch Daniels. Snyder stated, “I am glad to have some new faces on the board.” New to the board in 2007 are Byron Hooley and Dwayne Rhule. It was also announced that Tim Graber has been appointed to the board, replacing the past Chairman, Jeff Henson. These three gentlemen will join Snyder, Pam Cross, and Randy Dever as members of the ISAB. Cross and Dever were not present at the meeting.
The first item on the agenda was approval of the minutes from the board’s January 6, 2007 meeting. Those board members present decided to table approving the minutes from their last meeting until the members present at the meeting had reviewed them. Since the new members were not at the meeting, the group voted to let Cross and Dever review the minutes before approving them.
The outgoing Chairman, Jeff Henson, then addressed the group. He distributed a summary of some of the changes addressed by the board, as well as programs implemented over the past 6 years. Henson explained he was not providing this information to influence any future decisions of the board. Moreover, he wanted to let them know what has happened during his tenure on the board.
The first item mentioned was the County and State Fair Grant Program. Henson described this as, “One of the best things done over the years.” Under the program, fairs could apply for grants of up to $15,000 (in 2 separate grant applications) to use for improvements to their facility. Noting all of the fairs except Kentland had utilized grants at one time or another, he shared examples of some of the grant money at work. One other grant had been given to the Indiana Standardbred Hall of Fame. The original plan called for acquiring a trailer to allow a traveling exhibit to be employed. However, problems with insurance and ownership on the title of a vehicle and trailer halted this from becoming a reality.
The next item he shared was Blood Gas Testing at the Indiana State Fair. He noted the testing was initiated to ensure the integrity of racing during the fair program. To date, the testing has only taken place for the finals, not at the county fairs.
Recent years has also seen a restructuring of the Indiana Sired Fair Circuit (ISFC). With the opening of Indiana Downs, the ISFC was changed from having 2 levels to only one. The board felt the “Level A” horses were likely more suited to race at the pari-mutuel tracks, instead of the fairs. The large number of heats at places like Portland (one day fair) was also a part of the decision to scale back the fair program. The ISAB made a commitment to add $75,000 per year to the funds available to the ISFC program.
In an attempt to improve the image of the fair racing program, as well as give the IHRC staff a trailer to store the needed equipment for transport to the fairs, the board acquired a small storage trailer, flags representing the county fairs, and additional saddle pads. These additions added some class to the Indiana fair program.
Henson noted one of the most controversial issued faced by the board has been the Indiana stallion registration fee. The board has been approached by more than one individual wishing to raise the fee assessed for registering a stallion. The stated goal of these individuals was to get rid of some of the lesser quality stallions and improve the offering at the regional sales. After much consideration, the board decided on a minor increase in the fee. With the coming of slots, Henson predicts this issue will be something facing the board in the future. He noted some individuals have already approached him with their concerns.
In recent years, the board moved away from presenting all awards to the Indiana Sires Stakes winners on the night of the Indiana awards banquet. Instead, trophies were awarded to the owner, trainer, driver, and groom on the day/night of the race. The tracks have been helpful in creating a nice display of the trophies. This allows the patrons at the track to view them, adding credibility to the races being contested. In addition, an award was still presented to the overall champion at the banquet.
Working with the Breed Development Committee, the ISAB made changes to the conditions for the Aged Division of the Indiana Sires Stakes. The decision was made to eliminate the legs and have a single, competitive race (with eliminations, if necessary).
At the request of the Indiana Horse Council, the ISAB has also participated in the Hoosier Horse Fair and Expo. While originally planning to have exhibition races on the mile track, the weather in early April has refused to cooperate. This resulted in an indoor booth, which featured the Indiana horse racing industry. For 2008, the Indiana Horse Council would like the board to consider an indoor presentation at the event.
To conclude his comments, Henson shared an interesting fact about the ISAB. He stated the board owns the Indiana Sires Stakes, but the money for funding the events comes from Standardbred Breed Development (SBD). Further, he noted the board has never had problems when working with SBD.
Continuing with the agenda, Jessica Barnes gave the new board members an overview of the projects the board had worked on with the IHRC. A copy of the statute was also distributed. The election of officers is covered in the statute. Since two members of the board were absent, those present decided to elect only a Chairman, holding off on a Vice-Chairman and Treasurer until a future meeting. Scott Snyder will serve as the Chairman.
Barnes then presented an update on the ISFC Program. Her documentation included three spreadsheets to review. The first was a summary of the 2007 Indiana Fairs. The other two spreadsheets contained a breakdown of the events at the concluded Shelbyville races, as well as those programmed for the next two days at Converse.
Next, Barnes explained the ISAB fair advertising program. Under this program, fairs can obtain up to $500 to use in advertising their racing program. A template ad is available, where the fairs can incorporate their dates and key information. There are also posters available for promoting the fairs. In addition, new T-shirts have been designed to distribute at the fairs. With 25 available to each fair for giveaways, the shirts feature facts about harness racing, instead of the traditional listing of race dates. Barnes added that this format would allow the possibility of future shirts being a part of a series.
The board was reminded about the presentation of awards at the Indiana State Fair, requesting their presence for the events on the Thursday and Friday at the fair. It was also noted that Linda Dever is now the official race secretary for the ISFC events scheduled for the state fairgrounds in July, as well as the finals in August.
The next item on the agenda was an update on the Indiana Sires Stakes program. A spreadsheet explaining the projected purses for the finals was distributed. It shows the breakdown of the monies going into the purses. It was noted that SBD has agreed to pay all starters in the finals, including those finishing 6th through 10th. These funds will be in addition to the actual race purse. The first finals will be held at Hoosier Park on June 30. All board members were encouraged to attend the races and help with the presentations.
When the floor was open for questions, new board member Dwayne Rhule took the opportunity to look to the future. He asked, “With the anticipation of slots, what do we see?” Snyder was the first to offer an answer to his question. Snyder explained that the board’s funds are maximized as of now. He believes slots will open new doors, but no decisions can be made until projections of revenue are received from the racetracks. Those numbers will give them an idea of what is coming in the future, adding SBD does have some funds in reserve which can be tapped if needed. Barnes added she imagines some changes to be possible in 2008, but we will know more as time goes on. Snyder stated it is important for the board to work closely with SBD and for both groups to be on the same page, resulting in unified final decisions. Further, he expects a lot of discussions concerning where the program will go from here. Big decisions are in the future for everyone involved.
The board was then distributed with a copy of a letter from an Indiana stallion owner concerning registering a stallion in Indiana. This particular horse had stood in the state in the previous year, but was acquired by this individual at a public auction. According to the current rules, the horse could be registered, but a late fee would be assessed. Any possibility of charging a reduced fee for such special circumstances would require changing the current rules. After much discussion, the board decided to uphold the rule and charge the $250 late registration fee. Since only one such instance had occurred to date, the group indicated it may not be worth making a change to the rules.
While on the subject of Indiana stallions, Barnes shared plans from the IHRC for establishing rules and actual penalties for their violation. The rules would govern the requirement of stallions registered in Indiana to physically reside there during the specified period of time. Plans call for an inspector to go out into the field on unannounced trips to see if the horse is really residing where stated. To be efficient, this program will need guidelines for fines and punishment, if violations are found.
The board then looked ahead to the 2007 Indiana awards banquet. So far, only one thing has been mentioned to the board about this event. Jay Cross, a USTA Director, has approached the board to inquire about hosting the USTA District 2 meeting in conjunction with the Indiana awards banquet. Barnes noted the cost would only be increased by the need for some additional meeting rooms at the banquet site. As an aside, Jeff Edwards noted he plans to talk with the current Indiana USTA Directors (Jay Cross and Jerry Landess) about the possibility of separating Indiana from its joint district with Michigan. When this division was first established, Indiana racing only included a limited fair program. With the arrival of pari-mutuel racing, as well as the coming of slots, Edwards feels Indiana deserves additional representation on the USTA Board of Directors. As far as the banquet, Barnes stated she feels it would be a good idea to host the district meeting. Snyder made a motion for the board to do whatever is necessary to make a USTA District Meeting happen at the 2007 banquet. This passed by a unanimous vote of the board.
The board was distributed a summary sheet for the slots legislation. Barnes explained that the coming of slots does not directly affect the ISAB budget, but should result in freeing up some money down the road to do additional things. At their meeting scheduled for Friday, the IHRC will give SBD a timeline for getting the 2008 program in place. Once this is available, deadlines will be established for industry input on possible changes to the racing program. Barnes explained that the ISAB has more leeway in how they spend their funds than SBD.
Outgoing Chairman Henson also added some final comments. He reminded the board that the IHRC has no actual authority over the county fairs. They must approve the program, but have no control via rules. The fairs fall under the jurisdiction of the USTA. For this reason, the blood gas testing rules had to be written into the race conditions to be enforced.
Henson also offered a piece of advice to the current board. When the slot revenue becomes available, he suggested getting the $75,000 for the ISFC back from SBD for use in assisting the fairs.
Finally, Henson informed everyone present that the race office at the Indiana State Fairgrounds is now downstairs, in the old paddock area. This is a change from the traditional upstairs office, which now houses another entity.
The board decided to wait on scheduling a date for their next meeting. Once the deadlines are given to SBD on Friday, a meeting date will be set.
With nothing further on the agenda, Byron Hooley assumed Dick Link’s traditional role of motioning to adjourn the meeting.