Minutes
Ohio HBPA Board Meeting
11:00 am, Monday, August 5th, 2019
Ohio HBPA Main Office, Grove City, OH
Members Present:
President Joe Poole Directors: Susan Anderson, Bobby Cline, Jeff Jarvis, Mark Kuntz, Dick McCall, John Royer and Kim Williams
Members Unable to Attend: Doug Cowans, Mike Rone, Robin Schuster and Kristi Tumblin
Others Present:
Executive Director Dave Basler, OHBPA Lobbyist Tom Pappas, OTBO Executive Director John Engelhardt
Call to Order/ Approval of Minutes:
President Poole called the meeting to order. After review President Poole moved and Director Cline seconded a motion to approve the minutes of the June 6th, 2019 Ohio HBPA board of directors meeting. Motion passed.
President Poole moved and Director Royer seconded a motion to approve the minutes of the June 26th, 2019 Ohio HBPA board of directors conference call. Motion passed.
President Poole moved and Director Royer seconded a motion to grant excused absences for this meeting to Directors Cowans, Rone, Schuster and Tumblin due to the fact the meeting was held on a live racing day at Thistledown. Motion passed.
Special Order of Business:
OHBPA lobbyist Tom Pappas updated the board on the states budget bill which ultimately passed three weeks after the original deadline.
Pappas also updated the board on the current status of proposed sports betting legislation in the state detailing that the Governor had expressed the desire that sports betting being handled by the Casino Control Commission if and when it ultimately passes, which indicates he favors the current Senate version of the bill which had that commission prevailing over the current House version of the bill which has sports wagering being handled by the Lottery commission.
Since the Senate President hadn’t even scheduled the Senate version of the bill for a hearing Pappas believes that the passage on any sports wagering legislation in the state will not happen in 2019.
Executive Director’s Report:
The executive director updated the board regarding negotiations with Belterra Park management on revising the track contract. Extensive discussion was held regarding those negotiations and the Ohio HBPA’s strategy moving forward. Due to the sensitive and ongoing nature of these negotiations no further details will be provided in these minutes.
Director Jarvis moved and Director Williams seconded a motion that a search committee made up of Directors Williams, Cline and Royer be formed to conduct interviews and make recommendations to the full board for potential new legal counsel. Motion passed.
Basler and President Poole updated the board on the recent National HBPA executive committee meetings which they had attended representing the Ohio HBPA where the main topic of discussion was formulating strategy in opposition to the Jockey Club driven proposed Federal medication reform legislation.
Basler informed the board that the final payment in the settlement between the OSRC and the Ohio HBPA had been received that week in the amount of $28,571.42.
New Business:
Purses and Wagering
Basler updated the board on the current status of the purse accounts at all three Ohio thoroughbred tracks and discussion was held regarding the numbers.
Basler went through handouts provided to the board showing VLT revenues for the state’s seven commercial racetracks showing that the net win at Thistledown in June, 2019 came in at $11,900,784 up over $700,000 from the previous June. Mahoning Valley recorded a net win of $11,027,082 in June up nearly 10% from the June, 2018 net win figure of $10,124,483 at the track. The net win at Belterra Park in June, 2019 was $7,471,817 up slightly from the prior year figure of $7,133,458 but that the credits played at the track actually was lower in June, 2019 than in the previous year.
Benevolence, Policies and Organization
Basler informed the board that the Ohio Farm Bureau Foundation board of directors had scheduled their next meeting at Belterra Park on August 16th and that the next horsemen’s meeting at the track would be that same day. The plan is for the as many board members as possible to meet with the Farm Bureau Foundation board members after the conclusion of their meeting at approximately 3pm that afternoon.
Basler updated the board on the status of the OHBPA/OHHA joint Ohio Racing Economic Impact study saying that he expected to have the results of the study within the next two months to present to the board at its October meeting.
Budget and Finance
OTBO executive director John Engelhardt discussed what his organization had been doing over the past several months which included newsletters and preparing for their October mixed sale.
Director Jarvis moved and Director Williams seconded a motion to approve a request from the OTBO for a $25,000 contribution from the Industry Initiative Fund to support the OTBO’s operations. Motion passed.
Discussion was held regarding the next meeting date for the Ohio HBPA board of directors with Thursday, October 10th, 2019 being selected as the date for the next meeting.
Adjournment:
Director Jarvis moved and Director McCall seconded a motion to adjourn. Motion passed.