The United States Trotting Association has invited 40 key industry stakeholders to meet in Columbus, Ohio, on Monday, July 13 for an industry-wide summit to discuss the issues regarding declining foal crops and USTA membership as well as to investigate new ways to recruit owners to the sport.
The USTA Summit will be held in the Hilton Columbus at Easton hotel starting at 8:30 a.m.
“I am looking forward to hearing the thoughts of the many people from all economic levels of our industry during the discussions,” said USTA President Phil Langley. “Hopefully many of the ideas presented can be used to move the industry forward together as a whole instead of having several different segments working separately.”
Following registration and breakfast, the summit will commence with an introduction of the day’s moderators: 2015 Communicators Hall of Fame inductee, Bob Marks, and USTA Chairman of the Board, Ivan Axelrod.
Led by Marks, the morning portion of the agenda will focus on a discussion of the annual decline in foal crops and membership in the USTA and ideas for reversing the trends.
Axelrod will moderate the afternoon sessions that will be led by an examination of the current state of ownership and the recruitment of new owners into harness racing. The afternoon’s final segment will be aimed at formulating the initial phase of a strategic plan dealing with these industry issues and initiatives.
Following both the morning and afternoon sessions, there will be a 15-minute media Q&A and open discussion with the panel. Harness Racing Update’s Bill Finley and Gordon Waterstone from The Horseman and Fair World magazine are expected to attend.
Scheduled to participate in the Summit are USTA directors – Chairman Ivan Axelrod, President Phil Langley, Sam Beegle, Joe Faraldo, Mark Ford, Alan Leavitt, Dr. John Mossbarger, Jim Reynolds, Nick Salvi, Jason Settlemoir – and USTA Executive Vice President and CEO Mike Tanner.
Also expected to attend are:
Myron Bell – Brittany Farms
Bob Boni – Northwood Bloodstock Agency
Murray Brown – Hanover Shoe Farms
Bob Carson – Writer
Tom Charters – Hambletonian Society
Eric Cherry – Owner
Bob Debolt – Owner
Mike Freibert – Bluegrass Staking
Teena Freibert – Bluegrass Staking
John Gallinger – Standardbred Canada
Kevin Greenfield – Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association
Tom Grossman – Blue Chip Farms
Rob Key – Converseon social media agency
Milt Leeman – Owner
Mark Loewe – Penn National Gaming
Tom Luchento – Standardbred Breeders & Owners Association of NJ
Joe McLead – Sugar Valley Farm
Dot Morgan – New Vocations
Virgil Morgan Jr. – Trainer
David Reid – Preferred Equine Marketing
Robert Schmitz – Ohio State Racing Commission
David Siegel – TrackMaster
Steve Stewart – Hunterton Farm & Sales Agency
Ann Straatman – Seelster Farms
Janet Terhune – Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame
Joe Thomson – Winbak Farm
(USTA)
What ever you do don't waste
What ever you do don't waste your time discussing the declining handle and lack of interest from gamblers and the need to get competitive with other forms of gambling. If you did that it would be so unusual you may get struck by lightning.