2003 Cal-bred News

MINUTES OF THE CTBA BOARD OF DIRECTORS
November 7, 2003

The meeting was called to order at 9:40am. The President, Dan Schiffer conducted the meeting and announced that a quorum was present:

Minutes of the meeting of September 19, 2003 were approved.

President’s Report:

President Dan Schiffer announced that the Nominating Committee has approved seven people to be recommended by the board and placed on the ballot for the upcoming election to the Board of Directors of CTBA. The seven nominees are: Rosemary Neeb, Daniel Harralson, Trudy McCaffery, Bill Nichols, Daniel Schiffer, Suzanne Pashayan, and Rich Sulpizio.

Mr. Schiffer had a ballot distributed from a prior election and conducted a discussion of the form of the ballot. The motion was approved unanimously: to follow the recommendation of the nominating committee.

General Manager’s Report:

Doug Burge, General Manager, reported that he had attended a meeting hosted by the Piedra Foundation with other industry participants to discuss horse health issues and the future funding of thoroughbred retirement farms. Discussion took place regarding the possibility of legislating a horse enthusiast license plate with proceeds going toward various equine groups. The involvement of CTBA would include the promotion to identify qualifying signers and some assistance with the lobby effort to effect the legislation. The details of administration and distribution of funds is a concern and would have to be developed before CTBA could fully support the proposal.

Doug Burge will represent CTBA on a task force formed by the American Horse Council to ascertain if an automated horse identification system can be established for thoroughbreds. The attention of the task force will be on the use of a microchip imbedded in the horse.

Mr. Burge also announced that Incentive Award revenues through early November are up over 2%, including Advance Deposit Wagering receipts.

The Stallion Season Auction, which benefits the CTBA Political Action Committee, will be held on Tuesday, December 2, 2003. Based on the stallions donated, receipts this year are anticipated to be comparable with the record auction held last December.

Treasurer’s Report:

Treasurer John Barr presented financial statements of CTBA for the year through the month of September 2003. Through the first nine months of the year, the association is operating within budget.

Sales Committee:

Doug Burge informed the board that discussions are on going regarding changes, if any, that will be made for the 2004 Del Mar Sale. Issues that the committee is considering include venue, date of the event, and format.

Education Committee:

Leigh Ann Howard stated that the seminar at Harris Ranch last September was a huge success. There had been many compliments by several people regarding the quality of the subjects covered and their presentation. Chris McCarron’s after dinner presentation also received high reviews and the audience enjoyed his candid observations.

Two of the planned Stallion Tours have been conducted. Both were well attended and appeared to be attended by people with an interest in breeding.

Racing Committee:

John Barr announced that the annual meeting of Racing Secretaries would take place at the CTBA offices following the board meeting today. Agenda items include: A review of the 2003 Cal-bred stakes schedule and proposal for the 2004 stakes, an overall increase in claiming prices, and to increase the bottom claiming price level (at Southern California Tracks) for Cal-bred maiden three year olds and up races to $40,000 in addition to the $40,000 level now enjoyed by maiden Cal-bred races for two year olds and three year olds.

Cal Cup Committee:

Keith Card described the cash giveaway prize for the event. Twenty names will all be drawn, from entries received and announced after the Classic race on Cal Cup Day and the first seven persons to properly identify themselves in the order in which they were drawn will be declared winners of $10,000 each. Other special promotions are the giving away of one John Deere Gator to eligible Cal Cup party attendees and the appearance of the winners of the only pick-six ticket at the recently conducted Breeders’ Cup during the Oak Tree meet at Santa Anita. Following preliminary discussions, Cal Cup for 2004 will most probably be Saturday, October 16. However, a definite date has yet to be decided by the joint Oak Tree and CTBA Committee.

January 24, 2004 is the date of the Sunshine Millions and preparation of promotions for the event are on going.

Legislation Committee:

John Harris discussed the change in leadership in Sacramento, as it pertains to the horse industry. He felt Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger would be more engaged in the legislative process than Governor Davis had been. Governor Davis did sign some positive racing legislation such as the bill that enabled ADW, but he had concerns about the overall expansion of gambling, although Indian Gaming did expand tremendously while he was in office.

Two obvious areas of discussion will be Indian Gaming and the possibility of some version of Video Lottery Terminals (slots) at tracks. Harris felt that VLT’s would probably require a constitutional initiative and such a measure would receive strong financial opposition from the Native American Gaming Interests as well as probably Nevada interests.

AB900 will increase pari-mutuel takeout on exotic wagers by .5% to fund a program to be administered by TOC and the racing associations that would subsidize various aspects of Workers Compensation Insurance. Harris stated that while he recognized the need for more income to come into the racing business to offset costs in general, including workers comp costs, he was fearful of the “slush find” concept and felt some greater participation fee arrangement for each horse starting in a race would be more straightforward and better for the overall industry, plus easier to administer. Harris mentioned that the industry is set to go with the bill as is, but discussions continue.

At the federal level there is a bill progressing that would grant amnesty to certain illegal aliens that had worked on farms in the United States if they continued to do so, and the bill would also create some version of a guest worker program. Workers at racetracks may not qualify, but workers at horse farms would be eligible for the amnesty if they met the criteria.

Magazine Committee:

There are no new issues. The current magazine was complimented.

Membership Committee:

Patrick Hurley stated that the “Tell a Friend” letter has been mailed and that he had received several complimentary remarks.

Horse Welfare Committee:

Clydene Boots noted that the Committee will endeavor to be proactive rather than react to issues. It has been observed that many thoroughbreds arrive at retirement facilities in very poor condition, leading to the belief that these horses may not be cared for properly while under the care of a trainer and/or veterinarian. Action on this or other issues will be presented in the future by the Committee.

An example of pro-action in racing is the collection of injury data, by horse, performed by veterinarians at the racing and training tracks. Leigh Ann Howard informed the Board that such a system was being instituted at the San Luis Rey Downs training center. The data captured about day to day training injuries and soundness issues will be monitored by the Steve Wood track crew and needed adjustments will be made to the track. A number of board members concurred that this could be a useful undertaking at the major racetracks in California.

Web Site Committee:

Joan Rogers stated that the Web Site was working fine and no new initiatives were planned.

The meeting was adjourned at 11:40am.