The California Horse Racing Board conducted its regular meeting Thursday, May 26, at Santa Anita Park.
Chairman Chuck Winner presided. Vice Chair Richard Rosenberg and Commissioners Madeline Auerbach, Steve Beneto, Jesse Choper, George Krikorian and Alex Solis also were in attendance.
The audio of this entire Board meeting is available on the CHRB website (www.chrb.ca.gov) under the Webcast link. In brief:
· With a 4-3 vote, the Board approved for 45-day public notice a proposed regulatory amendment governing use of the riding crop in races. Current restrictions prohibit using the crop more than three times in succession without giving the horse a chance to respond. The amendment would further state “except in the last 16th of a mile in a thoroughbred race, at which time a jockey is prohibited from using a riding crop more than four times in succession without giving the horse a chance to respond before using the riding crop again.” The Board will conduct a public hearing on the proposed rule change following the public notice period.
· The Board approved the license application for the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club to conduct a race meet within the period July 13 through September 6. Del Mar intends to open its meet on Friday, July 15.
· The Board approved the license application for the California Exposition and State Fair to conduct a fair meet within the period July 6 through July 26. Cal Expo intends to open its meet on Friday, July 8.
· The Board approved the license application for the Oak Tree Racing Association to operate a fair meet at the Alameda County Fair within the period June 15 through July 5. This meet in Pleasanton will open Thursday, June 16.
· The Board approved the license application for the Sonoma County Fair to conduct a fair meet within the period July 27 through August 16. This meet in Santa Rosa will open Thursday, July 28.
· The Board approved a license application for the Race and Sports Authority in Bonita to offer wagering on horse racing. This will be the 11th mini-satellite to open within bars, restaurants, and other private businesses in California.
· In his report to the Board, Executive Director Rick Baedeker said the Backstretch Integrity Task Force is conducting meetings to discuss ways to “maximize the integrity of enforcement efforts using available resources” and to determine what additional resources might be needed. He noted the CHRB currently has three investigative positions open, two of them supervisorial, and encouraged interested sworn peace officers to visit the CHRB website to learn more about those open positions.
· Dr. Robert O’Neil introduced himself as the director of equine health and safety for the Stronach Group, a newly created position focusing on integrity and the health and safety of the horse.
· John Hindman, general counsel for TVG, reported on the outage that prevented online customers from placing any wagers beginning 70 minutes before the Kentucky Derby. Hindman explained TVG had earlier made “configuration changes” and run tests on the system, but the volume of wagering on Derby Day exceeded expectations and caused the system to crash. He said TVG has addressed customer complaints and repaired problems with the system.
· Commissioner Krikorian reported on the May 11 meeting of the Pari-Mutuel, ADW and Simulcasting Committee. Agenda items included distributions of revenue from wagering dollars, player pools, geo-locating of persons placing wagers for the purpose of revenue distribution, and how and when decisions are made to move races from the main track to the turf during inclement weather.
· The Board authorized the Los Angeles Turf Club to distribute $108,891 in race day charity proceeds to 10 beneficiaries.
· The Board authorized Watchandwager.com to distribute $4,700 in race day charity proceeds to six beneficiaries.
· Chairman Winner and Executive Director Baedeker announced changes to the standing committees of the Board, including the combining of the Northern and Southern Race Dates Committees into one Race Dates Committee, chaired by Chairman Winner. Commissioners Beneto and Krikorian are members.
(CHRB)