Racing fans don’t see stewards during the races, but attendees at a symposium session today (Thursday, December 11) got an inside look at how officials handle their many responsibilities.

Several prominent stewards played out their duties in an entertaining presentation showing just how busy and complicated even a normal day can be. Stewards must communicate with a vast array of track officials to keep them and the betting public informed of any changes, and to keep the races running on time.

Kim Sawyer, a steward for the California Horse Racing Board, played the role of the ‘steward in the stand’ as she interacted with her fellow stewards Dan Fick, Eddie Arroyo, and Dr. Scot Waterman as they assumed various roles.

As the stewards talked, audience members watched a video replay of a race on a large screen. Stewards kept a running commentary during the race, noting ‘incident at the quarter pole’ and ‘incident just before the finish.’

That prompted the stewards to post the ‘inquiry’ sign and take a longer look at the two incidents. The audience listened to mock conversations between stewards and the jockeys involved and heard the stewards review the disputed action on slow-motion replays.

The presentation was an innovative way to show attendees what goes on behind the closed doors of the stewards’ stand.

Three students from the Race Track Industry Program at the University of Arizona had a chance to play the role of stewards as they watched a replay of the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita in early November. Students Aaron Brukman, McLane Hendriks, and Francesca LeDonne debated the interference immediately after the start of the Classic, and told how they would have acted if they were serving as stewards.

Is the fantasy games approach the answer to expanding racing – or is it just another red herring? That was the topic of another panel on Thursday, as experts discussed the potential of fantasy games in horse racing. Hai Ng, a partner in Neomancer LLC, moderated the comments from Tom Dwyer, CEO of ballr.com and John Ford, CEO, of BAM Software and Services. They acknowledged that major sports leagues admit that fantasy sports increases viewership and revenues, but debated if fantasy games are meaningless in an industry such as horse racing where online wagering is already legal.

The symposium ended with a wide-ranging discussion of issues that stewards must confront in their jobs. The topics covered media relations, medication violations, daily reports,

Moderator Dan Fick, a director-at-large for the Racing Officials Accreditation Program, gave credit to journalist Ray Paulick for advising stewards on how to deal with media inquiries. Paulick’s advice was: “If they ask, you answer.”

“If you don’t have the answer, tell the questioner that you’ll get the answer and then follow up,” Fick told the stewards.

The Global Symposium on Racing & Gaming, which is sponsored by the University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program, concluded on Thursday.

It was announced that next year the symposium will be held at Loews Ventana Canyon Resort in Tucson. The dates are December 7-10, 2015.

(RTIP)

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