Posts Tagged ‘Jockey Club’
Monday, December 29th, 2008
By Ray Paulick
One of the first projects that landed on my desk when I joined the Thoroughbred Times as managing editor in 1988 was a feature story on the Jockey Club, the organization historically entrusted with registering Thoroughbreds and being the keeper of the Stud Book. The article was accompanied by a lengthy mail-in survey of Thoroughbred Times readers. The story and the survey results were of great interest, for at the time I had no idea how broadly the Jockey Club reached across the entire industry and how unhappy rank and file breeders then were with the organization’s service, pricing and activities.
It should be noted that there was an agenda to the article. The Thoroughbred Times was then owned by Richard F. Broadbent, whose Bloodstock Research Information Services was facing new competition from a subsidiary of the Jockey Club. There were questions about whether a tax-exempt breed registry like the Jockey Club should create a subsidiary to compete with a private enterprise company like BRIS, which supplied statistical data to breeders, owners and various publications. A few years later, the Jockey Club helped form another for-profit company, Equibase, which competed with the Daily Racing Form to collect racing results (the Form eventually closed its track and field operations and became Equibase’s biggest customer). The Jockey Club has since started other for-profit businesses.
One of the things that struck me was the comparison between how the Jockey Club and the American Quarter Horse Association conduct their business. The Jockey Club is clearly a breed apart from its Quarter Horse counterpart. The AQHA, then and now, is a relatively transparent organization, one whose membership is open and whose leadership is democratically elected through regional and national elections. There is a board of directors, from which comes an executive committee and elected officers. The AQHA has term limits that prevent individuals from maintaining longstanding control of the organization. The AQHA web site publishes a great deal of information about its governance and membership rules, which can be read here.
By comparison, membership in the Jockey Club has always been by invitation only. Click here for an explanation about membership. It is "governed" by a rotating board of stewards, though that term is used loosely since the Jockey Club has been under the firm control of just two men since 1982, when Ogden Mills “Dinny” Phipps was named chairman and William S. Farish became vice chairman (pictured left). Click here to see the current list of Jockey Club members, stewards, and officers.
The AQHA is a huge organization that maintains the registration of more than five million Quarter Horses, with 135,000 registered in 2007 alone. There are nearly 350,000 AQHA members. According to Internal Revenue Service Form 990 for tax exempt organizations, the AQHA generated $54.4 million in revenue in the 2005-06 fiscal year, the most recent year available. At that time it had $73 million in total assets, including nearly $49 million in investment securities. Click here for the AQHA Form 990.
The AQHA, like the Jockey Club, maintains pedigree records, but also promotes the Quarter Horse breed through horse shows and publishes three magazines (the Quarter Horse Journal, the Quarter Horse Racing Journal, and America’s Horse) that had total circulation of over 400,000 in 2006.
The AQHA charges as little as $25 to register a Quarter Horse foal if done within seven months of birth. The organization is based in Amarillo, Texas, and its highest-paid officer, longtime executive vice president Billie G. Brewer, earned an annual salary of $424,928; treasurer Lee Callaway was paid $221,965 (both figures are from the IRS Form 990.) The two executive salaries represented 5.5% of the AQHA’s total payroll of $11,725,124.
The Jockey Club is also a rich organization, one that is exempt from federal taxes but also has several wholly owned for-profit subsidiaries. The Jockey Club’s 2006 IRS Form 990 states that it registered 37,300 foals that year. The Jockey Club generated $13.2 million in revenue in 2006, the most recent year the figures are available. It claimed $32 million in total assets, including $21.6 million in investment securities. Click here for the Jockey Club Form 990.
In addition, the Jockey Club claimed that its subsidiaries generated over $25.7 million in income for 2006 ($13.7 million by TJC Holdings Inc. & Subsidiaries, which is engaged in information services and software solutions; $4.9 million by The Jockey Club Racing Services, for the collection of Thoroughbred racing data; and $7.1 million by The Jockey Club Technology Services, Inc., for its technology services). Click here for more information on those subsidiaries, which include shared ownership in the data collection company Equibase, and full ownership of TJCIS (The Jockey Club Information Systems and data supplier Equineline), and InCompass Solutions, which provides software systems for racetracks.
The Jockey Club’s IRS Form 990 lists its annual Round Table Conference in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., publication of its Fact Book, and providing financial support to other industry organizations among reasons for its tax-exempt status, in addition to its breed-registry responsibilities.
The Jockey Club charges $200 to register a Thoroughbred foal, considerably higher than the AQHA’s fee. Its last increase was in 2000, when it was upped from $175. The Jockey Club, which for many years was known as the “New York Jockey Club,” relocated its registration department from New York to Kentucky in 1988.
Its highest-paid officer is president Alan Marzelli (pictured, left), who earned $672,796 in 2006, 58% more than the AQHA’s top executive. The Jockey Club has three executive vice presidents: James Gagliano, with a salary of $256,885; Daniel Fick, $243,546; and Laura Banllaro, $243,804. IRS Form 990 also lists but does not itemize another $542,776 in 2006 pension plan contributions for those officers. The salaries represented 39.1% of the Jockey Club’s total payroll of $3,626,092 (exclusive of its subsidiaries, each of which have its own executive staff and employees).
The Jockey Club’s 2006 tax return came to light recently when an entity called “CTBA Boardwatch” (which generally concerns itself with the inner workings of the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association) distributed IRS Form 990 to numerous individuals. A number of those people contacted the Paulick Report and were outraged over the salaries paid to Marzelli and his three executive vice presidents.
I don’t know the going rate of executive compensation for a tax-exempt company in New York, where three of the four Jockey Club officers are based (only Dan Fick, a former AQHA executive, is located in the Lexington offices of the Jockey Club). Perhaps those numbers are perfectly in line with other non-profits. I would imagine, though, that the going rate for an executive staff is higher in New York than it would be in Kentucky.
It does seem strange to me that the Jockey Club continues to maintain a nicely appointed office in the high-rent district of midtown Manhattan, on 52nd Street just off Park Avenue. I doubt that it’s gotten many walk-in customers seeking to register their foals since the registration department was moved to Lexington more than 20 years ago. It is conveniently located near the headquarters of Bessemer Trust, the Phipps family-run wealth management firm whose offices are just a few blocks away on Fifth Avenue.
I asked Jockey Club communications officer Bob Curran why the Jockey Club continues to have a New York office 20 years after the organization’s primary function was relocated to Lexington. A few days later I received the following statement from Jockey Club president Marzelli: “Beginning in 1989, when the first of our commercial subsidiaries was incorporated, The Jockey Club has created and developed a group of for-profit subsidiaries and strategic partnerships, each designed to serve specific segments within the industry by utilizing highly efficient, state-of-the-art technology platforms. We have built and managed this growing list of technology-based companies with a corporate office based in New York and operations centers in Lexington, Ky., and Mountain View, Calif.”
That didn’t really answer the question “why a New York office is necessary” although it did tell me something I didn’t know; namely, that the Jockey Club now has a division in California’s high-tech Silicon Valley town of Mountain View.
The bigger question is who is the Jockey Club accountable to. Is it simply Phipps and Farish and their hand-picked stewards? Is the breeders who have paid registration fees over the 100-plus years of its existence? Is the Thoroughbred industry at large? If there is accountability to the industry, why isn’t there more transparency in the operational and financial activities of the Jockey Club and its various subsidiaries? Why is its membership so restrictive and its governance so secretive?
James Gagliano, one of the aforementioned executive vice presidents, touched on some of these questions, during the Jockey Club Round Table in August in which he discussed some of the activities of the Jockey Club and its affiliate for-profit companies. Click here to read Gagliano’s remarks.
Are you satisfied that the Jockey Club is properly and responsibly representing the best interests of the Thoroughbred industry? Let us know in the comment section below, or take the Daily Paulick Poll about the Jockey Club and its activities, located on the left-hand column of the Paulick Report home page.
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Tags: Alan Marzelli, american quarter horse association, aqha, bessemer, bessemer trust, billie brewer, billie g. brewer, bloodstock research information services, bob curran, breed registry, bris, california thoroughbred breeders association, ctba, ctba boardwatch, daily racing form, dan fick, Dinny Phipps, equibase, Horse Racing, incompass, james gagliano, Jockey Club, jockey club racing services, jockey club round table, jockey club steward, jockey club survey, jockey club technology services, laura banllaro, Ogden Mills Phipps, Paulick Report, phipps family, quarter horse, Ray Paulick, richard f. broadbent, the jockey club information systems, thoroughbred, Thoroughbred breeding, thoroughbred times, tjc, tjc holdings, tjcis, Will Farish, William S. Farish Posted in Breeding, Industry Organizations, Jockey Club, daily racing form | 27 Comments »
Monday, December 8th, 2008
By Ray Paulick
We can blame the economy, and people like National Thoroughbred Racing Association CEO Alex Waldrop will almost certainly do so, when the dismal year-end figures show that pari-mutuel handle in the United States is at its lowest level since 1998. But pointing to the dismal economy as the sole reason for the Thoroughbred racing industry’s woes will be a fatal mistake.
Based on monthly pari-mutuel handle figures from Equibase through November (and the expectation of a very slow December), the Paulick Report projects year-end handle in the U.S. will total just under $13.7 billion for 2008. This will be the fourth year of decline in handle over the last five years and the lowest since $13.1 billion was wagered in 1998.
Adjusted for inflation, the 1998 handle is equal to $17.4 billion in today’s dollars. The Thoroughbred pari-mutuel industry will fall more than 21% short of that figure. November’s numbers are actually worse than they appear on paper. The decline of 9.7% from November 2007 comes despite the fact there were five full weekends in the month of November this year compared with only four weekends last year. Weekend handle overall is higher than weekday handle. Handle will likely fall more than 10% this December, which only has four weekends (eight Saturday and Sunday programs) compared with five full weekends in December 2007.
The accompanying table, using statistics from the Jockey Club Online Fact Book, shows the trend in U.S. handle since 1996. If there is a sliver of good news from those figures it is the average amount of pari-mutuel handle per race, which has risen from $199,574 in 1996 to $287,014 in 2007. That number will drop this year.
U.S. THOROUGHBRED PARI-MUTUEL HANDLE, 1996-2008
| Year |
US Handle |
% Change |
** CPI Adjusted Handle |
No. Races |
Average Bet Per Race |
| *2008 |
$13,694,000,000 |
-7.00% |
$9,921,000,000 |
51,000 |
$268,527 |
| 2007 |
$14,725,000,000 |
-0.40% |
$11,143,000,000 |
51,304 |
$287,014 |
| 2006 |
$14,785,000,000 |
1.50% |
$11,507,000,000 |
51,668 |
$286,153 |
| 2005 |
$14,561,000,000 |
-3.60% |
$11,698,000,000 |
52,257 |
$278,642 |
| 2004 |
$15,099,000,000 |
-0.50% |
$12,541,000,000 |
53,595 |
$281,724 |
| 2003 |
$15,180,000,000 |
0.80% |
$12,944,000,000 |
53,503 |
$283,722 |
| 2002 |
$15,062,000,000 |
3.20% |
$13,136,000,000 |
54,304 |
$277,364 |
| 2001 |
$14,599,000,000 |
1.90% |
$12,934,000,000 |
55,127 |
$264,824 |
| 2000 |
$14,321,000,000 |
4.40% |
$13,048,000,000 |
55,486 |
$258,101 |
| 1999 |
$13,724,000,000 |
4.60% |
$12,925,000,000 |
54,644 |
$251,153 |
| 1998 |
$13,115,000,000 |
4.60% |
$12,624,000,000 |
55,894 |
$234,640 |
| 1997 |
$12,542,000,000 |
7.90% |
$12,260,000,000 |
57,832 |
$216,869 |
| 1996 |
$11,627,000,000 |
11.50% |
$11,627,000,000 |
58,259 |
$199,574 |
*2008 year-end figures are projected
**Adjusted for inflation using 1996 dollars
The decline in handle over the last 10 years has come despite the fact we’ve made it easier for people to bet, with account or advance deposit wagering now available in many states. In addition, betting menus at nearly every track have been expanded to include more exotic wagers (rolling pick 3s, pick 4s, super high 5s, etc) and lower minimum bet sizes (i.e., the ten cent superfectas).
The worst news of all is that there are no plans on the table to reverse these trends. Industry infighting is at an all-time high, with companies like Churchill Downs Inc. and horsemen’s organizations both entrenched in their negotiating positions on the division of revenue for account wagering. We have two competing racing channels, confusion over who accepts bets on which tracks, and a fan base that is increasingly fed up and finding other places to take their action. Many racetracks appear to have given up on ever building their core business and instead are latching onto slot machines for their own personal salvation. With Magna Entertainment as the poster child, corporate ownership of tracks has been a failure for the racing industry, whose few bright spots can be found in locally- or family-owned tracks like Tampa Bay Downs in Florida or Oaklawn Park in Arkansas.
The National Thoroughbred Racing Association, launched just over 10 years ago with great fanfare and anticipation, has been dismantled almost to the point of irrelevance. We have no national marketing, no cohesive strategy to grow the business and no central organization to develop one. Structure matters, and this industry has no structure in place to bring about meaningful change. Some of the so-called best and brightest among our leaders are saying our only chance of survival is to go through a massive retraction in the number of racetracks, racing dates and horses bred each year. But a "less is more" philosophy sounds more like an admission of defeat.
The upside down economics of maintaining a racing stable (average costs exceed purse potential by an factor of 2-to-1) are driving many people out of the business, especially those who have less discretionary money than they had just a few years ago. The image of the sport - one whose grandstands echo from emptiness and whose equine athletes often are cruelly discarded at the end of their useful careers - is not appealing to a growing percentage of the American people. We need a game-changing play, new leadership that will get us out of the old way of thinking, fresh ideas and a bold vision for structural change that can reverse the direction the industry is heading. Without that, we may be on borrowed time. Does there have to be a Thoroughbred racing industry in the United States, even in a place like Kentucky that calls itself the horse capital of the world? I’ll answer that question by asking another one: Does there have to be an American automobile industry?
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Tags: Account Wagering, alex waldrop, CDI, churchill downs, Horse Racing, horse racing economics, Jockey Club, National Thoroughbred Racing Association, NTRA, pari-mutuel betting, pari-mutuel handle, pari-mutuel wagering, Paulick Report, racinos, Ray Paulick, Slot machines, Thoroughbred Horsemen's Group Posted in Account Wagering, Churchill Downs Inc., Horse Racing, Industry, Industry Reform, Jockey Club, Marketing, National Thoroughbred Racing Association, Simulcasting, Thoroughbred Business, Wagering | 27 Comments »
Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008
By Ray Paulick
“How do you corral 30,000 horses, having taken them off the range where they lived, and just say ‘night night’?” asked Madeleine Pickens, the animal-loving wife of billionaire T. Boone Pickens and better known in Thoroughbred racing circles as the former Madeleine Paulson, who with her late husband, Allen Paulson, developed one of the most successful Thoroughbred breeding and racing operations of the 1980s and ‘90s. Allen Paulson died in 2000, and she remarried in 2005.
In recent years, Madeleine Pickens has spent sleepless nights agonizing over the plight of the American West’s wild mustangs, which have been rounded up and held in pens in increasing numbers over the last eight years by cowboys hired by the federal government’s Bureau of Land Management after complaints from cattlemen that the horses were depleting grazing areas. As federal funding for the wild horses was squeezed and the number of people interested in adopting them declined, BLM officials were faced with an unpleasant option: allow the horses to be sent to slaughterhouses or perform mass euthanasia.
The story of these wild horses – “America’s animal” she calls them – hit Madeleine Pickens’ radar screen at a time when she was putting considerable personal resources of time and money into efforts to end the slaughter of all horses. She studied the issue, then hired a polling company to gauge public opinion on the slaughter of horses for human consumption, finding out that seven in 10 Americans oppose the practice. She then paid for anti-slaughter advertisements in the New York Times, lobbied members of Congress and worked with other groups and individuals. Ultimately, however, those efforts ended in frustration because, she said, the pro-slaughter lobby, assisted by the cattle industry, was simply too entrenched with Washington, D.C., powerbrokers. Anti-slaughter bills passed by the U.S House of Representatives were stopped in the Senate. And she was outraged that so many Thoroughbred industry leaders failed to help.
“I would lay in bed, crying, and say, ‘How can we stop this? What can I do?” she told the Paulick Report. “I’m not a religious person, but a spiritual one, and I swear to God that I prayed for an answer.”
One night, she said, the answer came to her. “Why not buy a ranch and give every horse a home?”
Pickens’ plan for a horse sanctuary would be similar to how cattlemen got access to millions of acres of federal land, she said. “This is how the cattlemen got going,” she said. “They got the BLM land attached to their ranches with sweetheart deals. They pay a very low lease for it, and most aren’t even using the land now.”
Pickens has a private foundation in the formative stages, a key to which will be tax credits for donors, she told the Washington Post. She met with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, where half of the wild horses are held. Pickens isn’t prepared to say how much she needs to raise for an endowment to make the plan work, but she is confident she will be able to make it happen. She envisions corporate sponsors, campgrounds and cabins for tourists to come and observe the horses. “There is so much support for this right now,” she said. “It’s amazing the number of calls and emails I’ve received from people who want to help or go to work there.” (Click here to see the official Madeleine Pickens Web site.)
She estimated that she will need upwards of a million acres, and is currently in negotiations on three different properties. She took her plan to BLM officials, who leaked the story to the Washington Post, prematurely, in her opinion. “The story got out way too early while I’m working on the land deal,” she said. “The land people may suddenly say, ‘Ohhh, deep pockets,’ and become unreasonable. I’m trying to be responsible and do the right thing here. I’m very confident that next year this whole thing will be in place.”
Pickens said she felt like someone who’s been trying to walk through quicksand the last couple of years and can’t seem to get out of it. “Nothing was happening, and you can’t believe the idiocy of it all,” she said. “Why do people not get it?”
She grew weary of trying to work for a solution in Congress. “The people in the racehorse industry weren’t on board and we had all those cattlemen against us,” Pickens said. “We really couldn’t win. I give the people who have been fighting this for so long a lot of credit.
“I think this will work because I came up with a private-sector solution rather than trying to put a bill through Washington where politicians could have their way and destroy it. When the bureaucrats do it, it costs too much and doesn’t work. With private individuals, you’re not indebted to every group or compromised by lobbyists.”
Her proposal has been widely applauded, within the BLM and the general public. While her husband, a well-known corporate raider, oilman and philanthropist, has been a highly visible proponent for a plan to make America energy independent, Madeleine Pickens became an overnight celebrity because of her desire to save the horses. The week her plan went public, ABC’s World News Tonight named her “Person of the Week.” Some outside of the horse business remembered her as the heroine (pictured, left) who rescued hundreds of abandoned cats and dogs in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina.
“I knew people cared, but I was somewhat stunned at the way this story took off like a wildfire,” she said. “It surprised me, but it really shouldn’t have."
A PLACE FOR EX-RACEHORSES, TOO
Pickens said the ranch will not just be a refuge for wild horses. She wants it to be all inclusive for different breeds, and especially ex-Thoroughbred racehorses that often end up unwanted or sold to killer-buyers who send them off for slaughter in Canada or Mexico. There are no remaining horse slaughterhouses in the United States.
“We’re going to have enough land where I don’t know how we can say no to anything,” she said. “It won’t happen overnight. But I want to give the Thoroughbred industry an opportunity to do something here, and to make people feel that they are being responsible for the animals in their sport. I’m going to ask the industry for their support. It’s going to be difficult for the racing industry to change their way of thinking. With this, I hope they can say they have an exit strategy for their horses.”
Pickens is still angry over the National Thoroughbred Racing Association’s refusal to support recent anti-slaughter legislation in Congress. She was one of a large number of major industry participants to sign a letter written by owner-breeder Josephine Abercrombie to members of Congress stating their support of anti-slaughter legislation and their disapproval of the NTRA’s position. “The NTRA had to compromise themselves with Goodlatte (Virginia Rep. Bob Goodlatte, former chairman of the House Agriculture Committee and now ranking member), who has helped them with gambling legislation but has close ties to the cattle industry,” she said. “By getting behind my proposal, they won’t have to worry about the threat of someone like Goodlatte.”
The Jockey Club is another group that has disappointed Pickens. “They register 35,000 horses a year and they say those horses are worth millions and millions of dollars,” she said. “And they come up with some plan where people can give a few dollars when they register a foal and the Jockey Club says they’ll match up to $200,000 a year. This is the same old b.s. — $200,000 is a peanut. How dare they say this is all they’re going to put into a retirement fund for all the horses who don’t make it. It’s all part of what makes the system not work.
“In every business it’s leadership, and we’ve had horrible leadership in racing. Will Farish (vice chairman of the Jockey Club and owner of Lane’s End Farm, where Pickens retired Grade I winner Rock Hard Ten to stud) can be a good guy. He’s head of this and head of that, and people look up to him. But here’s a man who won’t go against slaughter. Why? Is it because he’s from Houston, where so many of the cattlemen are from?”
Pickens, who said she has withdrawn from the racing business largely because of its inaction on this issue, said she thinks the Thoroughbred industry can learn a great deal from how her proposal has been embraced by the public.
“Racing people can learn that they have a chance to endear the public to them,” she said. “They get a few gamblers here and there, but they are in trouble because they seem to have lost sight of the animal who is the athlete. They have too many fatalities and too many injuries that happen in public on national television. When that happens, it exposes the fact they have no exit strategy for the horses.
“Again, there is no leadership. Those who have been in it for a long time have done nothing to endear people to the business. Now they have an opportunity like the BLM has to try and resolve one of their problems.”
I asked Pickens why she is doing all this, what is driving her to take on a project so big?
She told me of how she emigrated to the United States from Iraq in 1969 because she wanted “to come to a new world and do something with my new country.”
But then she confessed to another reason, something that haunted her when she first learned about the horrors of slaughter: “Maybe it’s because I’m ashamed that I was in the industry for years and never knew there was a slaughterhouse for so many horses at the end of the day. I’m so ashamed I never knew. And people who know about it and aren’t doing anything, they should be ashamed, too.”
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Tags: abc world news tonight, anti-slaughter legislation, blm, bob goodlatte, bureau of land management, harry reid, horse industry, Horse Racing, horse slaughter, Horse Welfare, hurricane katrina, hurricane katrina pet rescue, Jockey Club, Josephine Abercrombie, Lane's End, madeleine paulson, madeleine pickens, National Thoroughbred Racing Association, NTRA, Paulick Report, person of the week, pickens, pickens plan, pro-slaughter, Ray Paulick, rock hard ten, saving wild horses, t. boone pickens, Thoroughbred industry, thoroughbred retirement, wild horse ranch, wild horse refuge, wild horses, wild mustangs, Will Farish, William S. Farish Posted in Horse Slaughter, Horse Welfare, Jockey Club, National Thoroughbred Racing Association, People | 24 Comments »
Monday, November 24th, 2008
By Ray Paulick
The Paulick Report will spotlight a different charity each day of Thanksgiving week, when we traditionally take time to reflect and give thanks to the blessings we have and to help those less fortunate. This is a difficult time for many Americans, and charitable organizations are already feeling the effects of the global economic crisis. We hope you’ll spend a few minutes to learn about some of the charities that make us a better industry, and consider giving to these or to others that we won’t have the opportunity to publicize. Remember that no gift is too small.
The Belmont Child Care Association (BCCA) was established in 1998 to provide on-site care for the pre-school children of working families at New York-area racetracks and to provide funds for those families unable to afford the cost of care. It was formed at the initiative of the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association.
A 501(c)3 not-for-profit corporation, BCCA has benefited from the support of the New York Racing Association, Jockey Club and other organizations, but the construction of Anna House, the facility constructed on Belmont Park property leased for $1 a year, would not have been possible without the generosity of numerous individuals. Foremost among those are Michael Dubb, a Long Island developer and philanthropist who brought construction oversight and vision to the project and serves as BCCA’s board chairman, and Eugene and Laura Melnyk, who donated $1 million to kick off the capital campaign.
As anyone in the Thoroughbred industry knows, work days start early and can run seven days a week. Conventional day-care is not an option for many backstretch employees because of the cost or the hours the services are needed. Anna House, open 365 days a year from 5 a.m. to 1 p.m., provides a wonderful opportunity for the youngest children of backstretch workers to be cared for in a safe, nurturing and stimulating, learning environment.
An annual highlight for the Belmont Child Care Association is coming up on Dec. 13, when a special shopping event gives the children of Anna House a chance to be a gift-giver. Donated gifts, such as toys and clothing for infants, toddlers and teenagers, and books and adult clothing (warm clothing preferred) are set up at Anna House as a “store.” Children arriving at the facility have an opportunity to chat with Santa Claus, and with the help of a volunteer create a shopping list for their family. They then pick out their presents, which are wrapped and tagged by Santa’s volunteer helpers for Christmas delivery.
Last year, more than 350 children shopped for their families, and even more are expected this year.
To donate new items for the shopping events or to make a tax-deductible contribution, click here, or contact the BCCA at (516) 488-2103, or send to : Belmont Child Care Association/Shopping Event; 2150 Hempstead Turnpike; Elmont, NY 11003.
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Tags: anna house, backstretch workers, bcca, belmont child care association, belmont park, eugene melnyk, horse racing charities, horse racing jobs, jobs in racing, Jockey Club, laura melnyk, michael dubb, New York Racing Association, nyra, Paulick Report, Ray Paulick Posted in Industry Organizations, New York Racing Association | Comments Off
Friday, November 21st, 2008
By Ray Paulick
Bob Evans, president and chief executive officer of Churchill Downs Inc., said during a Friday morning press conference at the company’s flagship track in Louisville, Ky., that the CDI board of directors discussed the possibility of reducing the field size of the Kentucky Derby during a regularly scheduled meeting in New Orleans last week.
The Derby’s maximum field size of 20 is under scrutiny in the wake of the death of the filly Eight Belles in last year’s Derby, even though her fatal injuries occurred after the finish and apparently were unrelated to the number of runners or trouble she may have encountered in the race. The Derby traditionally has the largest field of any race in the United States. No Derby starter has fallen during the running of the race since 1970, when Holy Land clipped heels and fell going into the far turn.
By contrast, Breeders’ Cup fields are limited to 14 starters.
Maximum field size of 14 horses and the prohibition of fillies running against males were considerations in an original discussion document circulated by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association to industry leaders who formed what ultimately came to be known as the NTRA Safety and Integrity Alliance.
Field size or sex limitations were not part of the final recommendations of the NTRA Safety and Integrity Alliance Pledge, which can be viewed by clicking here.
Evans said CDI has devoted a great deal of time and resources to examine a wide range of safety issues since the death of Eight Belles and has adopted all of the safety recommendations made by committees formed earlier this year by the Jockey Club and Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association.
The CDI board discussed the reduction of the field size, Evans said, though he gave no indication whether a change will be made. “For now, it’s the way it’s always been,” he said. Nominations to the Triple Crown races, including the Derby, state that the size of the Derby can be “up to 20 horses.”
A reduction in field size might not be greeted favorably by horse owners and trainers who throughout the winter and spring closely follow whether their 3-year-olds are in the leading 20 contenders, based on money earned in graded or group stakes races. Churchill recently announced a marketing agreement with Kempton racecourse in England that will guarantee one spot in the Derby field to the winner of the Kentucky Derby Challenge Stakes, a 1 1/8-mile race on Polytrack, on March 18.
Handle on the Derby would also decline in the event of a reduction in the field size. Evans said Churchill has researched Derby handle in relationship to field size but would not say how much handle might fall. A reduction from 20 to 14 starters would also cost Churchill Downs $300,000 in lost entry and starting fees ($25,000 to enter and $25,000 to start).
Evans discussed the Derby field size and other safety measures following a media briefing announcing that Oaks and Derby ticket prices, with a few exceptions, would be frozen in 2009. “Our slowing economy is having a pronounced effect, and many of our customers have been affected in various ways as well,” Evans said. “Although the Kentucky Derby occupies an elite spot in the world of sports and tickets are typically in high demand, we want to keep our price points at the same level to help our customers in this challenging economic climate.” Click here to read more about the ticket price freeze.
The only exceptions will be scheduled price increases in the 30-year personal seat license program, which are coming off a three-year price freeze; some luxury suites and Marquee Village accommodations; and reserved seats in the infield.
Churchill Downs is also offering the opportunity for on-track customers to buy Derby reserved seats in a sweepstakes running each day from tomorrow (Saturday, Nov. 22) through Nov. 29. Individuals whose names are drawn will be eligible to buy two Derby tickets ranging in price from $88 to $207. (Derby tickets range in price from $88 for infield reserved seats to $693 on millionaire’s row.) One thousand of the tracks 55,000 seats are being offered in the sweepstakes. For more details, click here.
Copyright © 2008, The Paulick Report
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Tags: bob evans, Breeders' Cup, CDI, cdi board of directors, churchill downs, Churchill Downs Inc., derby field size, eight belles, Horse Racing, horse racing safety, Horse Welfare, Jockey Club, kempton, kentucky derby, kentucky derby 135, kentucky derby tickets, kentucky oaks, NTRA, ntra safety and integrity alliance, Paulick Report, Ray Paulick, Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, TOBA, Triple Crown Posted in Churchill Downs Inc., Horse Racing, Horse Welfare, Jockey Club, National Thoroughbred Racing Association, TOBA, kentucky derby | 12 Comments »
Wednesday, October 15th, 2008
By Ray Paulick
The National Thoroughbred Racing Association announced a series of sweeping safety and integrity reforms and the hiring of a former governor and Bush administration official during a press conference in New York this morning.
The reforms, organized under the banner of the newly created NTRA Safety and Integrity Alliance, touch on a wide range of issues that have been bubbling under the surface for years but came to a head this spring in the wake of the death of the filly Eight Belles in the Kentucky Derby, the revelation that Derby winner Big Brown won while racing legally on anabolic steroids, and a damning Congressional hearing that left industry leaders red-faced and fearful of federal action. The reforms and the creation of the Safety and Integrity Alliance evolved over the last several months from a series of closed-door meetings and a confidential discussion document circulated throughout the industry and published in the Paulick Report in July.
The Alliance, to be funded by the financially challenged NTRA, consists of racetracks, owners, breeders, horsemen, jockeys, auction companies, veterinarians, fans, regulators and breed registries. The NTRA has retained the services of former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson, who also served as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services for President George W. Bush and made a brief run for the 2008 presidential nomination of the Republican Party. Thompson will be charged with independently monitoring the program and annually providing public reports on the progress the Alliance has made in meeting its goals.
Thompson, incidentally, attended the 2005 Kentucky Derby and later joined a West Point Thoroughbred partnership that owned Flashy Bull, who was unplaced in the 2006 Derby but subsequently won the Grade 1 Stephen Foster at Churchill Downs. According to West Point president Terry Finley, Thompson "loves the racing game" and is in a partnership that currently owns a West Point 2-year-old named Tapit’s Brew.
Click here to read the complete text of the NTRA Safety and Integrity Alliance and Pledge.
For a list of tracks and racing organizations that have agreed to the pledge, click here.
Following is the NTRA’s press release on the formation of the Safety and Integrity Alliance and the hiring of Thompson as an independent monitor.
NTRA FORMS SAFETY AND INTEGRITY ALLIANCE AND ANNOUNCES SWEEPING REFORMS; TABS FORMER WISCONSIN GOVERNOR TOMMY THOMPSON TO PROVIDE OVERSIGHT
National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) President and CEO Alex Waldrop and Thoroughbred racing industry leaders outlined a series of industry-wide safety and integrity reforms at a press conference in New York today. The NTRA also announced the creation of a new Safety and Integrity Alliance, comprised of the largest tracks and horsemen’s groups in the U.S. and Canada, which will be responsible for implementing the reforms. The Honorable Tommy G. Thompson, former four-term Governor of Wisconsin and Secretary of Health and Human Services, will serve as independent counsel for the new NTRA Safety and Integrity Alliance. Governor Thompson will conduct an ongoing review and provide an annual independent and public assessment to the Alliance.
The reform initiatives are the broadest and most comprehensive in the sport’s history, including:
- uniform medication rules for each racing state
- ban of steroids from racing competition
- out-of-competition testing for blood and gene doping agents and pre-race testing
- uniform penalties for all medication infractions
- mandatory on-track and non-racing injury reporting
- mandatory installation of protective inner safety rail
- mandatory pre- and post-race security
- adoption of a placement program for Thoroughbreds no longer competing
The reforms were approved by the NTRA Board of Directors, representing North America’s leading racetracks, owners, breeders and horsemen, at a special Board Meeting in September and communicated via e-mail to fans just prior to the press conference. Waldrop, joined by NTRA Executive Chairman Robert Elliston, Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association Chairman Alan Foreman and Governor Thompson, unveiled an ambitious timetable for implementing reforms, calling on NTRA Alliance member organizations to adopt house rules to enforce the measures until individual states and regulatory agencies can catch up via statute and regulations.
“Our industry is taking strong, positive steps to ensure the safety and integrity of our sport,” said Waldrop. “Despite challenges and significant short-term and long-term costs, there is an unprecedented level of commitment among Thoroughbred racing’s leadership to see these measures through.”
Governor Thompson—currently a partner in the Washington, D.C., offices of the law firm Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer and Feld—will lead a team that will independently review, monitor and assess the program and provide annual public reports of the industry’s progress toward achieving its goals in the area of human and equine health and safety.
"Our first priority is to insure the health and safety of the athletes and horses in the racing industry,” said Thompson. “On its own initiative, the NTRA has taken a great step forward in committing to reforms and the creation of an important new body to oversee implementation of the reforms. I will take my independent oversight role seriously and work to assure transparency in this process.”
The NTRA Safety and Integrity Alliance will be a standing organization whose purpose is to implement safety and integrity reforms. The Alliance also will function as a certification/accreditation body for the purpose of recognizing and incentivizing compliance by all stakeholders. Reforms will be undertaken using a phased approach that begins immediately—in some cases, under a House Rules format—and transitions to a broader strategy that relies on licensure requirements, continuing education programs and the state regulatory process.
“The health and safety of all participants in Thoroughbred racing – both human and equine – have always been top priorities at Churchill Downs, the home of the Kentucky Derby, and all of our company’s racetracks,” said Robert Evans, President and CEO of Churchill Downs, Inc. “We know that the job is never done where safety is concerned. We fully support the NTRA’s development of safety and integrity standards and the annual certification of tracks that meet those standards. On the issues of safety and integrity, we believe we must hold ourselves to only the highest standards. Our customers do.”
Virtually every leading racetrack and horsemen’s association in North America, representing some one million industry participants, has pledged its support to the Alliance and the reforms. Waldrop indicated that, in the coming weeks, the Alliance will be broadened to include other racing organizations, individuals and fans; and that additional reforms, including wagering integrity issues, will be addressed by the Alliance.
"The horsemen are the people who are ultimately responsible for the day-to-day care and safety of the Thoroughbred,” said Alan Foreman, Chairman of the national Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association. “As such, the health and safety of our horses and the integrity of our sport are our highest priorities. We are committed to seeing that these reforms and standards are implemented across the nation."
The reforms include improvements to medication and testing policies, guidelines for injury reporting and prevention, safety research, providing a safer racing environment, and post-racing care for retired race horses. They are drawn from the recommendations that have emerged over the past several months from The Jockey Club’s Thoroughbred Safety Committee and Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit, Breeders’ Cup Limited, the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association’s Graded Stakes Committee and the long-standing work of the Racing Medication and Testing Consortium and the Association of Racing Commissioners International, among others.
“Fortunately, we have the excellent work of many industry organizations to build on, allowing us to focus on implementation, oversight, measurement and transparency,” said Waldrop. “The reforms and the plan for implementation have been conceived by those who have pledged to operate at a higher level of integrity.”
The NTRA is a broad-based coalition of horse racing interests consisting of leading thoroughbred racetracks, owners, breeders, trainers and affiliated horse racing associations, charged with increasing the popularity of horse racing and improving economic conditions for industry participants. The NTRA has offices in Lexington, Ky., and New York. NTRA press releases appear on the NTRA web site, NTRA.com.
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Tags: akin gump strauss hauer and feld, alan foreman, alex waldrop, american graded stakes committee, anabolic steroids, association of racing commissioners international, backstretch security, Barbaro, bob elliston, bob evans, Breeders' Cup, churchill downs, eight belles, former wisconsin governor, injury reporting, Jockey Club, National Thoroughbred Racing Association, NTRA, ntra safety and integrity alliance, out of competition testing, post-, post-race security, pre-race security, racing injuries, racing medication and testing consortium, RCI, rmtc, robert elliston, robert evans, safety rail, steroids ban, thoroughbred horsemen's association, Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, thoroughbred safety committee, tommy g. thompson, tommy thompson, uniform medication, welfare and safety of the racehorse summit Posted in Horse Racing, Horse Welfare, Industry, Industry Organizations, Industry Reform, National Thoroughbred Racing Association, Regulatory Issues | 9 Comments »
Wednesday, October 8th, 2008
By Ray Paulick
(UPDATED OCT. 10 TO REFLECT NEW POLICY FROM MAGNA ENTERTAINMENT)
When the Judiciary Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives held a markup hearing on Sept. 17 to discuss H.B. 6598, the Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2008 that would ban slaughter and criminalize the transportation of horses for the purpose of having them slaughtered for human consumption, a letter from National Thoroughbred Racing Association president and CEO Alex Waldrop said his organization took a neutral position on H.B. 6598 despite supporting previous anti-slaughter legislation.
Waldrop’s position statement, read into the record by Republican Bob Goodlatte of Virginia, outraged a number of prominent Thoroughbred industry participants, including Pin Oak Stud’s Josephine Abercrombie, who wrote a letter signed by more than 40 individuals that was sent to the leadership of the Judiciary Committee stating that the NTRA did not speak for them on the issue. The Judiciary Committee passed the legislation on Sept. 23 and sent it to the full House.
On Oct. 3, however, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) referred the Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act to the Agriculture Committee, giving that committee until Jan. 3, 2009, to take action on the bill. Since the 110th Congress has adjourned, the bill will not pass unless it comes up during a lame duck session, which is highly unlikely.
Agriculture Committee chairman Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) and ranking Republican Goodlatte both have been recipients of contributions from the NTRA PAC, most recently receiving $5,000 for their 2008 campaigns. Peterson is a member of the Congressional Horse Caucus and Goodlatte has been a strong ally of the NTRA’s lobbying efforts concerning Internet gambling and tax incentives for breeders. Goodlatte has been an opponent of slaughter legislation. (Abercrombie, incidentally, is a “champion” level NTRA Horse PAC donor, giving $5,000.)
In the wake of the Judiciary Committee’s action on anti-slaughter legislation and the NTRA’s neutral position (the American Horse Council is also neutral), Paulick Report readers suggested we contact other major Thoroughbred industry associations and businesses to see if they have taken a position on the issue of slaughter and on the specific legislation (H.B. 6598).
Listed alphabetically by organization, here is what we learned:
ASSOCIATION OF RACING COMMISSIONERS INTERNATIONAL: According to RCI president/CEO Ed Martin, the RCI “normally does not take positions on pending legislation in Congress and has not been asked by any of its members to address the issue.”
BREEDERS’ CUP: Greg Avioli, president/CEO, said the Breeders’ Cup “has not issued a formal policy statement on the slaughter legislation before Congress. However, it is the strong consensus of our board that slaughter is inhumane and any and all reasonable options other than slaughter should be pursued. In furtherance of this position, proceeds from this year’s Championships will go to multiple retirement organizations.”
CHURCHILL DOWNS INC. Officials did not reply to requests for a position statement. Churchill Downs Inc, created the Greener Pastures program in conjunction with the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation and supports other retirement and retraining programs.
FASIG-TIPTON: Did not reply to requests for a position statement. Under the leadership of the late John Hettinger, Fasig-Tipton’s majority shareholder, the company created Blue Horse Charities to offer support to various retirement and retraining organizations. Hettinger was the industry’s leading anti-slaughter advocate.
JOCKEY CLUB: Spokesman Bob Curran gave no position on H.B. 6598 but said the official breed registry “is opposed to the slaughter or processing of Thoroughbreds for consumption by humans or animals. This includes the sale and/or transportation of Thoroughbreds for slaughter or processing for consumption by humans or animals.” The Jockey Club is a member of the Unwanted Horse Coalition.
KEENELAND ASSOCIATION: Did not reply to requests for a position statement. Keeneland and its foundation have supported Thoroughbred retirement and retraining organizations, including the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation and Rerun.
KENTUCKY EQUINE EDUCATION PROJECT: A statement from executive director Patrick Neely said: “It has been a topic of discussion in some of KEEP’s industry working groups but no formal position has been taken at this time.”
KENTUCKY THOROUGHBRED ASSOCIATION: Did not reply to requests for a position statement. KTA lists several Thoroughbred retirement organizations on its Web site.
MAGNA ENTERTAINMENT (owns Santa Anita, Gulfstream, Laurel, Pimlico, Lone Star Park, Remington Park, Golden Gate Fields): Does not have a position statement on slaughter or current anti-slaughter legislation, according to an official with the company. OCT. 10 UPDATE: MAGNA INSTITUTES NEW POLICY. CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS.
NATIONAL HORSEMEN’S BENEVOLENT AND PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION: CEO Remi Bellocq said he could not provide a yes or no answer to whether the organization supports a ban on slaughter or H.B. 6598 because of the diversity of the 30 HBPA affiliates across North America. “Our horsemen and horsewomen fall across the spectrum on this issue,” Bellocq said. The National HBPA is a member of the Unwanted Horse Coalition. Bellocq said “this shouldn’t be defined necessarily as a ‘slaughter for human consumption’ issue but, rather, an ‘unwanted horses’ issue. To a person, if given a choice, horsemen would much prefer finding a home and/or second career for their horses as opposed to slaughter. Unfortunately, no matter what legislation (state or federal) is passed, the real problem – the number of unwanted horses – will still exist. To stem the number of unwanted horses, education and awareness are a key first step to successfully bring the number down.
“To that end, in 2005 National HBPA was one of the founding members of the Unwanted Horse and we continue working actively within the UHC to better educate horsemen about the options including, should all else fail, humane euthanasia. The UHC has set-up a big tent under which all the wonderful horse rescue programs can work together. If we truly made an industry-wide effort to centralize, for example, an ex-racehorse outplacement / adoption program, I am convinced many could be placed with willing owners. Why not, for instance, establish a national site modeled after Petfinder.com? Already, organizations like the Illinois HBPA have created similar approaches with success (see Illinois HBPA’s Horses Wanted link.”
NEW YORK RACING ASSOCIATION: Did not reply to requests for a position statement. NYRA offers support to the Exceller Fund, which helps place retired horses and has supported the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation.
THOROUGHBRED HORSEMEN’S ASSOCIATION: CEO Alan Foreman said the organization has not taken a position on the current legislation. “There will be a new Congress in January and we will visit the issue then,” Foreman said.
THOROUGHBRED OWNERS AND BREEDERS ASSOCIATION: Position statement from TOBA president Dan Metzger: “We are categorically opposed to the slaughter of Thoroughbreds, and urge all those involved in the Thoroughbred industry to support rescue and adoption efforts and to work together to find humane means of dealing with the problems presented by Thoroughbreds no longer suitable for racing or breeding.” Metzger did not indicate whether or not TOBA has a position on H.B. 6598. TOBA is a member of the Unwanted Horse Coalition and is affiliated with Thoroughbred Charities of America, which supports numerous horse retirement and retraining operations.
THOROUGHBRED OWNERS OF CALIFORNIA: Did not reply to requests for a position statement. TOC’s Web site offers advice to a horse’s “last owner” and pushed for a first-of-its-kind charitable fund, the Calfornia Retirement Management Account (CARMA), to solicit and distribute purse checkoffs for retirement and retraining programs. Transport for slaughter is illegal in California.
THOROUGHBRED RACING ASSOCIATIONS: Executive vice president Chris Scherf said the organization of North American racetracks has adopted no official position.
Tags: agriculture committee, alex waldrop, anti-slaughter legi, association of racing commissioners international, blue horse charities, bob curran, bob goodlatte, Breeders' Cup, carma, chris scherf, churchill downs, collin peterson, congressional horse caucus, dan metzger, ed martin, fasig-tipton, greener pastures, Greg Avioli, h.b. 6598, hbpa, horse slaughter, Jockey Club, john hettinger, Josephine Abercrombie, judiciary committee, Keeneland, kentucky equine education project, kentucky thoroughbred association, kta, Magna Entertainment, nancy pelosi, national horsemen's benevolent and protective associati, National Thoroughbred Racing Association, New York Racing Association, nhbpa, NTRA, ntra pac, nyra, patrick neely, Paulick Report, prevention of equine cruelty act, Ray Paulick, RCI, remi bellocq, Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, thoroughbred owners of california, thoroughbred racing associations, thoroughbred retirement foundation, TOBA, toc, tra, unwanted horse coalition Posted in Horse Slaughter, Horse Welfare, Industry Organizations | 21 Comments »
Friday, September 12th, 2008
By Ray Paulick
The change bandwagon is getting pretty crowded, both in presidential politics and in horseracing. Following on the heels of suggestions for reform at the Jockey Club Round Table in August and demands for reform by the Breeders’ Cup and American Graded Stakes Committee, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association is getting into the act. NTRA president and CEO Alex Waldrop is convening a closed-door meeting in Lexington, Ky., today beginning at 9 a.m. to seek support and funding for widespread changes related to medication and horse welfare issues, many of which were detailed in a Paulick Report exclusive in July.
Today’s invitation-only meeting at the Griffin Gate Marriott Hotel will have representation from a broad base throughout the Thoroughbred industry, unlike an earlier small gathering of insiders who met at Keeneland to draft a discussion document in reaction to the June 19 Congressional hearings that threatened federal intervention. The hearings came in the wake of revelations about legal anabolic steroid use and the death of Eight Belles in the Kentucky Derby.
The discussion document outlined reforms related to medication, drug testing, racetrack safety standards, jockey weights and insurance, 2-year-old sales and racing, wagering protocols, Eclipse Awards, and a national placement program for retired racehorses. The confidential document, which has since been amended since published in the Paulick Report, also had suggestions for implementation and enforcement, but no plan for funding, which is expected to be a major topic of discussion.
Waldrop, who has been traveling around the country with NTRA vice president Keith Chamblin to sell the reform platform to different organizations, said today’s meeting would be an “informational session.” At least 50 individuals will attend. The former Churchill Downs executive is expected to seek funding and may propose the hiring of an outside agency to serve as a “monitor” to hold the industry’s feet to the fire so that it will make enough changes to hold Congress at bay.
One invited participant said it would be a “miracle” if the industry supports the proposals but gives Waldrop high marks for his efforts. “Where is the money going to come from?” he asked. “The NTRA doesn’t have it, racetracks are strapped, and state governments are cutting budgets on racing commissions and drug testing labs.” Another said the plan needs to be scaled down and more realistic. “The Jockey Club Round Table made all these proposals about what the industry needs to do, and I said, ‘Hey, what about the proposals you made last year? When are you going to get around to addressing those?’”
Copyright © 2008, The Paulick Report
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Tags: alex waldrop, anabolic steroids, congressional hearings, eclipse awards, eight belles, Horse Racing, Jockey Club, jockey club round table, keith chamblin, kentucky derby, National Thoroughbred Racing Association, NTRA, Paulick Report, Ray Paulick, Thoroughbred Auctions Posted in Congressional Hearing, Industry Organizations, Industry Reform, Jockey Club, National Thoroughbred Racing Association, Regulatory Issues | 6 Comments »
Tuesday, September 9th, 2008
Musselman, in fact, seems almost obsessed with the Paulick Report, based on the number of recent references he’s made in his newsletter, which stands true to its motto: “We never let the truth get in the way of a good story.” The most recent reference to the Paulick Report can be found in today’s Indian Charlie, in which Musselman comments on the Paulick Report’s recent two-part series about Keeneland’s very profitable history ( Lexington’s Fort Knox) and current governance and ownership ( Who Owns Keeneland?).
Since the June 16 launch of the Paulick Report, Musselman has shown a potential “man crush,” writing six fictional stories about the Paulick Report and its editor and publisher, Ray Paulick. References to the Paulick Report since June 16 can be found here, here, here, here, here and here.
That number puts the Paulick Report in good company with such regular Indian Charlie cast members as Jerry Bailey, Bob Baffert, Cot Campbell, Robert Clay, Christophe Clemente, Terrence Collier, Bob Evans, Terry Finley, Arthur Hancock, Barry Irwin, Ken McPeek, Niall O’Callaghan, and Dallas Stewart.
“We would like to sincerely thank Mr. Musselman and his billionaire Jockey Club member ghostwriters for the free publicity,” Ray Paulick told the Paulick Report in an exclusive interview, “and we encourage all of them to keep up the good work. Of course, we hope his ghostwriters are able to continue doing such a terrific job running the Thoroughbred industry.”
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Tags: arthur hancock, barry irwin, Bob Baffert, bob evans, christophe clemente, cot campbell, dallas stewart, ed musselman, indian charlie, jerry bailey, Jockey Club, ken mcpeek, niall o'callaghan, pacemaker, Paulick Report, Ray Paulick, Robert Clay, terrence collier, Terry Finley Posted in Jockey Club, People, Racing Media | 31 Comments »
Wednesday, August 20th, 2008
By Ray Paulick
What’s different this time, different enough to herd the cats that refuse to be herded?
Speakers at the Jockey Club Round Table on Matters Pertaining to Racing have been calling, encouraging and hoping for change for most of the 50-plus years that this annual gathering has been going on. Whether it’s uniform licensing, uniform medication rules and penalties, uniform marketing, a uniform spirit of cooperation or a uniform approach to fixing an archaic tote system, the disparate groups in this industry refuse to put on the same uniform.
So there was the death in this year’s Kentucky Derby of the filly Eight Belles. There was also the admission by trainer Rick Dutrow that he routinely gave anabolic steroids (legally, it should be added) to his horses, including Kentucky Derby winner Big Brown. (Hell, it wasn’t that long ago that Kentucky allowed bicarbonate loading, or milkshakes, to be given to horses.) In recent years there have been highly publicized suspensions or positive tests for medication violations of the conditioner who has won the last four Eclipse Awards as outstanding trainer; the trainer of the reigning Horse of the Year; the trainer of the Kentucky Derby winner; and the trainer of the Kentucky Oaks winner. There is scientific data showing that toe grabs can increase the incidence of catastrophic injuries, yet most states still allow these racing plates to be used.
Racing has had high profile fatalities before, anabolic steroids like Winstrol have been called a therapeutic medication and advertised for years in the trade magazines, and successful trainers have been charged with medication violations. Those incidents were never enough to move the needle; why should it be any different this time?
Maybe, just maybe, it’s the threat of federal intervention. People like Congressman Ed Whitfield of Kentucky are telling the industry “fix your problems or we’ll fix them for you.” That’s a scary thought to many. Perhaps, however, that’s the only way significant change will occur.
Many (but not all) within the industry sense the serious nature of the threat and understand that change is no longer an option if we want to turn the tide of negative publicity, declining popularity and serious economic challenges. Unfortunately, the group responsible for making many of the desired changes in policies related to medication, drug testing and other regulatory matters have the least invested in the industry. These are the state regulators, the “gnomes” as former Churchill Downs CEO Tom Meeker once referred to them. In many cases they are political appointees with little or no knowledge of the racing industry and who fail to see how their myopic maneuverings negatively impact the industry’s big picture.
Let’s look at the establishment of drug testing laboratory standards and the possible creation of a national laboratory (or regional labs), one of the centerpieces of the Jockey Club Safety Committee recommendations announced at Sunday’s Round Table. Which racing commission is going to be the first to jettison it own state college or university lab? California, New York, Florida? Which commissions will redirect funding from labs within their state to out-of-state facilities?
The makeup of the safety committee was strategically formulated by the Jockey Club. Its members include Don Dizney from Florida, John Barr from California, Kentuckians Jimmy Bell, Hiram Polk and Dell Hancock, and chairman Stuart Janney from Maryland. But will those individuals be able to convince regulators in their home states and others around them to support the committee’s various recommendations?
Industry conferences, whether it’s the Jockey Club Round Table, University of Arizona Symposium on Racing, or Thoroughbred Racing Association/Harness Tracks of America Simulcast Conference tend to produced short-lived enthusiasm. Does anyone remember the report Rudy Giuliani delivered on wagering integrity, less than one year after the Breeders’ Cup Pick Six Scandal, at the 2003 Jockey Club Round Table? Several inches of dust have gathered on that report and on Giuliani’s very specific recommendations for fixing a tote system that is hideously outdated.
The industry would not work together to address that problem, and five years later there are racetrack operators who are unconvinced that their pools are not being manipulated by past-post betting. Tote problems represent a giant accident waiting to happen.
I hope I’m wrong. It would be nice to see every state racing commission adopt uniform medication rules, including the abolition of anabolic steroids, and ban toe grabs and other racing plates that lead to catastrophic injuries. It would be productive for the various laboratories to work together instead of competing with each other. If the industry developed a national laboratory and had the funding for serious research and development, it’s possible we could eradicate some of the designer drugs that are currently undetectable that many in the game feel are prevalent.
The industry has faced crises before, and it’s failed to act on its own accord. What makes this crisis any different?
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Tags: anabolic steroids, Big Brown, dell hancock, Dinny Phipps, don dizney, drug testing, ed whitfield, eight belles, hiram polk, Horse Racing, jimmy bell, Jockey Club, jockey club round table, john barr, kentucky derby, Ogden Mills Phipps, Paulick Report, Ray Paulick, rick dutrow, rudy giuliani, Simulcasting, stuart janney, symposium on racing, tom meeker, totalizator, wagering integrity, Winstrol Posted in Industry Organizations, Jockey Club, Medication, Regulatory Issues | 3 Comments »
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