2002 Cal-bred News

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE CTBA BOARD OF DIRECTORS
OCTOBER 30, 2002, ARCADIA, CA

President’s Report:

The President acknowledged John Barr, who had requested time to present an update on future Breeders’ Cup board representation. In the past, the president of each state Breeders Association was automatically made a board member, but that is no longer the case following the decision to implement more democratic board selection criteria. Persons seeking to be on the ballot for election to the board must now be nominated by receiving 50 votes (one vote allowed for each foal nominated to the Breeders’ Cup) from breeders and must meet certain other qualifying criteria. Board members serve for a three-year term and may serve two successive terms whereupon they must “sit out” for at least one year before being eligible to run again.

John Barr will soon remain the only California director, if he is re-elected in this years balloting as Bob Lewis and Don Valpredo’s terms will both be up in 2003. “My whole point in bringing this to the attention of the board is to emphasize the importance of having California representation on this board, particularly now that the NTRA is so closely allied with Breeders’ Cup. We must see that our interests are a part of all Breeders’ Cup considerations in the future. We are no longer assured of a spot on the board therefore we need to be aware of the importance in seeking and electing qualified members from California in the future,” said Barr.

Approximately 15%-18% of Cal Bred foals are nominated to the Breeders Cup (500-700 horses per year), thus giving California that number of votes to support a candidate.

Wes Fitzpatrick gave recognition and thanks to the Cal Cup Committee, to the breeders represented at Cal Cup, and to the Education Committee for the successful Harris Ranch Seminar in late September. He also commended Doug Burge for his leadership of the CTBA staff.

Nearly 170 tables for the Cal Cup infield party have been sold. This is the second highest number of table sales in the thirteen-year history of the event. As in the past, the Cal Cup races will have large competitive fields, with approximately 110 horses entered in the ten races.

There are many opportunities for Cal-Bred horses to shine—Cal Cup at Santa Anita, Gold Rush Day at Hollywood Park, the Great State Challenge on December 7, the Sunshine Millions on January 25, and the Del Mar Sale in August. The president indicated that our program was the envy of the rest of the country, and that there was nothing like our lucrative incentive program and myriad of opportunities anywhere else in the world. Our overall annual racing a breeding incentive program totals nearly $35 million.

General Manager’s Report: Doug Burge reported on the importance of Cal-Bred racing in California. The California Horse Racing Information Management System (CHRIMS) runners statistics year to date reveal that Cal-Bred races average significantly higher field sizes and higher all source total handle than all races run in the state. We plan to include details of this report in an upcoming edition of the California Thoroughbred magazine. These numbers show clearly that the incentive program is effective.

Live foals conceived in California increased 13% this year, to 3,806. The trends in the California live foal crop have been extremely positive the past four to five years.

The deadline for filing petitions for the upcoming election for directors was October 25. No petitions were received, so the election will consist of five incumbents seeking five seats.

Treasurer’s Report: John Barr reported that the association continues to be in good financial condition with this year’s results running ahead of projections due primarily to increases in foal registration and advertising revenues. Our stallion directory, scheduled to be mailed in early December, is the biggest ever.

Education Report: The next Harris Ranch Seminar will probably address selected husbandry issues, to give a focus different from that of the last two years. The stallion tours are scheduled, and a list with dates is available from the CTBA offices. We are looking into publishing a new events calendar this year; if we do it, we will restrict the distribution to those who want it rather than mailing it to a wide audience.

Racing Report: The Great State Challenge, to be held at Sam Houston Race Park in Houston, TX, is scheduled for December 7, 2002. The CTBA has provided to the NTRA a preliminary list of the top Cal-Bred horses for each of the six races. By November 8, we will provide a ranked list. One Cal-Bred is guaranteed a slot in each race.

The Sunshine Millions Advisory Committee has met on several occasions. A Horseman’s Information booklet is scheduled for publication by the first week in November. It will contain the race conditions, nomination form, pre-entry fee and entry fee requirements, shipping information, track specifications, and a discussion of medication issues. A Marketing subcommittee has been formed and is currently working on a variety of promotional ideas.

The annual Racing Secretaries meeting will be held at the CTBA offices on Friday, November 1st. The primary purpose of this meeting is to lay out the Cal-bred stakes calendar for 2003 in anticipation of its being presented to the CHRB in November. This meeting also presents an opportunity to discuss many topics of common interest with CTBA, TOC, CTT as well as the racing secretaries from each of the racing venues.

Cal Cup Report: Keith Card expressed his thanks to the CTBA and Oak Tree staff—but especially to Cal-Cup Coordinator Cookie Hackworth for her tremendous efforts in keeping all the details in order and all the plans running smoothly. Gates will open at 10 am, food will be available from 11 am, and first post is noon. The 35,000 special polo shirts arrived on time after a detour through New York because of the labor disputes on the California docks. The decorations will consist of canvas posters of the silks of previous winners, which those winners can take home with them, plus on each table a centerpiece of a horse weathervane decorated with the table buyer’s silks. TVG has been doing a great job with coverage. There will be 6-seat golf carts stationed at elevators and at check-in to transport those who have difficulty with the long walk. John Deere will give away a free Gator.

Legislative Report: John Harris indicates that the legislature is currently out of session. We need to think about new things that we will need this coming year, and it may be that we have accomplished our major objectives—license fee relief, account wagering, and sales tax reduction. It is unlikely that slot machines will appear soon at racetracks. We would need Indian support for this, and it is not clear that racing would ultimately benefit, the risk being that slot machines and not racing would end up being the major attraction for bettors. It would be helpful to get more race simulcasting into Indian casinos, an objective that will require work from many organizations in racing.

The CHRB is working on sorting out issues of racing date assignments.

Website/Electronic Report: The e-mailed newsletter is very popular, and we are receiving very positive comments about it. Our legislative section on the website is the only place in the U.S. where there is available to readers a summary of relevant industry legislation, and we feel that this is a very important service to keep our members and others informed and energized to communicate with their legislators.

We want to be able to report on the number of hits per specific advertisement on the website to better advise advertisers of the reach and cost effectiveness of their ads. We will work with the website manager to improve our capability in this area.

The next Cal-Bred Registration Deadline is December 31 of the yearling year. Remember—it gets expensive after this! We plan on coordinating with Barretts the language they are using on their catalog pages with respect to Cal-Breds. The pages now say “Foaled in California” or “Eligible for Cal-Bred Owners Premiums.” We would like a category that states, “Eligible to be registered as a Cal-Bred.” There is currently confusion about the status of some young horses being sold at Barretts, and it may not always be clear to purchasers that they can register their purchase as a Cal-Bred.