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OHHA Office, Columbus, Ohio OHHA President Steve McCoy called the meeting to order at 2:30pm The following Directors and Employees were in attendance: Jim Arledge Jr., Dan Ater, High Beatty Jr., Tom Blankenship, Dr. Scott Booher, Richard Brandt, Roy Burns, Robert Cain, Dr. Barry Carter, Scott Cox, Robert Davis, Senena Esty, Joe Ewing, Kevin Greenfield, Randy Haines, Amy Hollar, “Skip” Hoovler, William Irvine, Jerry Knappenberger, Suanne Kochilla, Rick Martindale, Kim Marts, Steve McCoy, Dr. John Mossbarger, Linda Nance, William Nibert, Sam Noble III, John Poppe, Ayers Ratliff, Kim Rinker, Dayle Roof, Daryl Sherman, Robert Sidley, Carl Wick. President McCoy announced that Betty Shaw was appointed as a Breeders Section Director to replace Matt Murphy, who resigned from the Board. Motion by Rick Martindale for approval of the October 14, 2008 Board meeting minutes was seconded by Roy Burns. Motion passed. Daryl Sherman gave the financial report. He stated the Association ended 2007 with a decrease in net assets of $65,000 and for 2008 the decrease in net assets is $32,671, which is a reflection of adjustments of personnel salaries and benefits and also other budget reductions. Track income for 2008 was $310,000 with the total in 2007 being $342,000. The decline was anticipated and figured into the budget. Racing has diminished due to surrounding states’ purses. Miscellaneous income of $102,108 for on track accident insurance at commercial race tracks and fairs is posted as income and then out as an expense. He said banquet expenses were down, interest income was down, and membership dues were down $7,800, with the total income down $43,000. Other membership expenses that have decreased are HHI dues, health insurance, legislative representative, promotions and retirement funding, thus total operating expenses were $524,000 compared to $621,000 in 2007. As of December 31, 2008 OHHA current assets included $136,488 in cash and certificates of deposit. Steve McCoy commended the staff on doing a good job in keeping the total operating expenses in 2008 as close as possible to the 2008 budget. Motion made by Bob Cain to approve the financial report, seconded by Senena Esty. Motion passed. Daryl Sherman presented the proposed 2009 budget for OHHA. Daryl said the proposed budget anticipates a decrease in income, but also provides for a reduction in budgeted expenses for 2009. Steve McCoy discussed legislative representation for the OHHA in 2009. Motion made by Skip Hoovler to allow compensation of our legislative representative to be resolved by the President, motion was seconded by Senena Esty. Motion passed. A motion was made by Carl Wick to approve the 2009 OHHA budget, which was seconded by Jim Arledge. Motion passed. Dayle Roof gave the OHHHIT report. He stated that the minimum number of programmed starts required in order for a trainer to have grooms on the health insurance program was reduced by the trustees from 210 to 150 in Ohio during a calendar year. Therefore, in order to have grooms on the health insurance program a trainer must either race over 50% of their starts or 150 starts in Ohio each year. Anyone 65 years of age or Medicare eligible will be terminated from the program. Jerry Knappenberger introduced Jessica Schroeder to the Board members as the new assistant in the USTA fair liaison department. Jessica is in the planning stages for a USTA fair budget to be discussed and adopted at the annual USTA board meeting in Las Vegas. She is also working on updating fair promotions at the Ohio fairs. Bob Sidley gave the Nominating Committee report, stating no elections were contested. Therefore, Breeders Section Directors Senena Esty, Betty Shaw and Brad Wallace are re-elected. Owners Section Directors re-elected are Rod Newhart, District 2; Dayle Roof, District 5 and Dr. Scott Booher, District 8. The Trainer/Driver Section Directors re-elected are William Irvine, Rick Martindale and Gene Riegle. Steve McCoy is re-elected President. Motion by Skip Hoovler to accept the Nominating Committee report, seconded by Dick Brandt. Motion passed. Rick Martindale gave a report for the Banquet Committee, stating that everything is set for the Annual Banquet. Discussion of OHHA Issues Bob Schmitz gave the legislative report, stating legislation is expected to be introduced to deal with the gaming issue for racetracks. The shortfall in the State budget (2009/2011) is expected to be $7 billion. The Governor has been reducing all state agencies' budgets. The Governor is not expected to raise taxes. The licensing fee for casinos would not be enough to cover the state budget shortfall. All members of the industry need to be unified on the issue to be successful. Horsemen will not be excluded in a new proposal. The Ohio Roundtable would probably file a constitutional challenge if the Governor and the legislature adopted a slots bill without voter approval. Bob emphasized we need to speak out in one voice for the whole industry. It appears the Ohio Farm Bureau will support OHHA on gaming issues, due to the impact of horse racing on agriculture. Jerry Knappenberger discussed the 2009 racing dates, stating Northfield Park added a few days and will race 213 days, Scioto Downs will race 62 days, Lebanon Raceway has scheduled 54 days and Raceway Park will race 60 days. Lebanon Raceway did not want to race in February, however OHHA reached an agreement with Lebanon Raceway to race the second half of February and two extra weekends in May and June. Horsemen at Lebanon Raceway approved the new schedule and were pleased. Jerry Knappenberger discussed a whipping rule proposal which provides that drivers keep the lines in both hands throughout the race. He stated the Ohio State Racing Commission Safety Committee would be considering possible whipping rule changes and sought input from the OHHA Board of Directors. There was much discussion on the issue but no official action taken during the meeting. Jerry Knappenberger said all of the Ohio stake races, including the Ohio Sire Stakes, State Fair Stakes, Ohio Breeders Championships, Ohio Breeders Stakes, Scarlet and Gray Stake, New Century Series, Parshall Futurity, Hackett Memorial, Night of Champions, Champion of Champions and the seven fair circuits nomination forms have been combined into one directory. This is a great cost savings to the fairs and a great benefit for horsemen to have all Ohio stakes available in one book. He also stated the Ohio Standardbred Development Fund Committee set the 2009 estimated purses for the legs of the OSS at $16,000. They were forced to reduce purses because of a lack of funding. Knappenberger said the Ohio Fairs Fund is down from last year and the base purse will be $2,018, but all 69 fairs who raced last year will again conduct racing. He stated the Ohio Breeders Stakes payments have been reduced this year with the anticipation of more nominations and the purse for each race is estimated to be between $15,000 and $20,000. Joe Ewing reported the OFMA/ OHHA Fair Advisory Committee’s plan to conduct a test market at five fairs has started by asking those fairs to sign an agreement for two years with the first year to implement the “Best Fair Practices” program and the second year is for observation and suggestions for changes. Dr. John Mossbarger reported the Ohio Equine Industry Coalition (OEIC) is working on the bill which eliminates horses being taken out of state for slaughter. He also stated the OEIC dues this year would be $2,000. Motion made to approve OHHA dues payment to OEIC by Dick Brandt, seconded by Suanne Kochilla. Motion passed. Jerry Knappenberger stated the cost for On-Track Accident Insurance increased for 2009 by 5%. Motion made by Rick Martindale to fund On-Track Accident Insurance at the four commercial racetracks out of the purse pool. Motion received a second by Randy Haines. Motion passed. Jerry said the On-Track Accident Insurance for fairs would remain at a rate of $175.00 per program. Knappenberger stated approximately 1,600 “Ohio Horse of the Year” ballots were mailed with only approximately 200 returned. He asked if the voting procedure should be changed since it was currently not cost effective to mail so many ballots with so few returns. The consensus was for the Banquet Committee to review voting for next year. Ray Burns presented the Driver/Trainer Section report, stating that he would remain chairman for 2009 and the vice-chairman would be Hugh Beatty, Jr. The section wished to ask the OSRC Executive Director that the Commission accept a letter of trainer responsibility signed by the individual trainers, in lieu of the substitute trainer rule. Suanne Kochilla gave the Owner Section report, stating that she would be the chairperson for 2009 with Joe Ewing serving as vice-chairman. She said the past year was challenging for Ohio horse owners. OEIC was formed this year to represent the owners of the 300,000 horses in the state, of which about 5% are Standardbreds. She stated that horsemen need to make provisions for the breed and fair funds and voice our opinions to State legislators. Senena Esty gave the report for the Breeders Section. She said she would again be the chairperson for 2009 with Dr. John Mossbarger as vice-chairman. She discussed the 2007 and 2008 stallion auctions, providing financial updates. She also noted an equine STD was found in 300 Kentucky based horses. Tom Blankenship gave the report for Lebanon Raceway and Scioto Downs, saying that with both tracks closed at this time, there is not much to report. He stated 154 horses are training at Scioto Downs. Lebanon Raceway horsemen are very happy with the negotiated racing days. Amy Hollar gave the Northfield Park report, stating that live racing days probably need to be limited to keep purses as high as possible for the horsemen. Kim Marts gave the Raceway Park report, stating that the track is closed at this time. She said Raceway Park has announced the retirement of racing Secretary Pam Miller. General Manager Bill McLaughlin has continued to do a lot of marketing promotions and facility improvements, so the outlook is positive. Senena Esty made a motion to adjourn which was seconded by Bob Cain. Motion passed. |
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