Minutes
Ohio HBPA Board Meeting
11:00 am, Friday, January 10, 2025
Ohio HBPA Main Office, Grove City, OH
Members Present: President Joe Poole Directors, Linda Carrera, Bobby Cline, Christy Estvanko, Jeff Jarvis, Kim Puhl, Doug Shanyfelt
Members Unable to Attend: Susan Anderson, Tim Hamm, Brian Poe, Mike Rone, George Sikora
Others Present: Executive Director Dave Basler
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 December 6, 2024 Ohio HBPA board of directors meeting. Motion passed.
President Poole moved and Director Puhl seconded a motion to grant Director Poe an excused absence for this meeting as he was in New York to watch a first-time starter he had bred race at Aqueduct. Motion passed with Director Jarvis voting no.
Executive Director’s Report:
The executive director updated the board that a decision was expected anytime from the US Supreme Court as to which, if any, of the cases against HISA it would hear in 2025 and that National HBPA Legal Counsel remained optimistic that the Supreme Court will hear the National HBPA case vs HISA and that we will ultimately prevail.
Extensive discussion was held regarding a written proposal from Belterra Park to change the track kitchen and mediation portions of the current track contract between the OHBPA and Belterra Park. The board made various changes to Belterra’s proposal with the executive director to write up the proposed changes in preparation for a call between the parties the following week.
Basler informed the board that current OSRC Chairman Scott Borgemenke had stepped down and will be taking a position on the Ohio Casino Control Commission and that Commissioner Beth Hansen would be named Chairwoman of the OSRC.
Basler detailed upcoming changes to entry policies at Mahoning Valley which included increased scrutiny of vet records for horses not stabled at the track in accordance with current HISA rules as well as a likely requirement that any horse stabled on the grounds which is entered in a race needing permission from the Director of Racing to leave the grounds.
New Business:
Purses and Wagering
Handouts were provided to the board showing VLT results for all three thoroughbred tracks in Ohio for December 2024 as well as previous VLT results for comparison purposes. Belterra Park showed a net win of $7,460,825 in December 2024 which was essentially flat with the $7,468,544 net win in December 2023 at the track. Thistledown had a net VLT win of $16,072,683 in December which was down approximately $440,000 from the prior December net win figure of $16,516,013. Mahoning Valley had a net VLT win of $14,193,804 in December 2024 up over a half million dollars from the $13,617,988 net win at Mahoning Valley in December 2023.
Basler detailed that the total funds available for purses at Mahoning Valley Race Course through December 1, 2024 was $5,849,264 after the correction of a $2 million dollar error on the purse reports compared to $4,585,726 available for purses at the track the prior December 1, Belterra Park had a purse account balance of $2,232,159 through November 1, 2024 after corrections of purse report errors compared to a balance of $812,865 on November 1, 2023.
Thistledown long time purse report accountant Rebecca Ivey has left the company and there have not been any purse reports received from Thistledown for the past 4 months.
Government and External Affairs
Discussion was held regarding a handout provided by the executive director with proposed changes to ORC 3769-6-11 on voided claims. The sense of the board was that the proposed changes were acceptable but that there should be clarification that the inspection of claimed horses must take place at the receiving barn during the allotted time period. It should be noted that this proposal, if passed by the OSRC, would only go into effect if HISA is found unconstitutional by the Supreme Court and is no longer in force in Ohio.
Budget and Finance
Discussion was held regarding the 2025 National HBPA Winter Convention to be held in February in Tampa, Florida with the executive director polling board member to see who was interested in attending the conference.
Extensive discussion was held regarding Ohio HBPA contributions from the Industry Initiative Fund for 2025.
President Poole moved and Director Cline seconded a motion that a contribution of $35,000 be made from the Industry Initiative Fund to the National HBPA to cover 2025 dues, Horsemen’s Journal assessment, Winter Convention registrations and Winter Convention sponsorship. Motion passed.
President Poole moved and Director Puhl seconded a motion that a contribution of $15,000 be made from the Industry Initiative Fund to the Gluck Equine Research Center at the University of Kentucky to support the ongoing equine research of Dr. Thomas Tobin.
President Poole moved and Director Carrera seconded a motion that a contribution of $55,000 from the Industry Initiative Fund be made to the Ohio HBPA Scholarship Fund to support on-track, 4H and FFA scholarships. Motion passed.
Director Jarvis moved and Director Carrera seconded a motion that a contribution of $50,000 be made from the Industry Initiative Fund to New Vocations in support of their retraining and rehoming of thoroughbreds off of Ohio’s racetracks. Motion passed.
President Poole moved and Director Estvanko seconded a motion that a contribution of $10,000 be made from the Industry Initiative Fund to the Equine Health and Welfare alliance in support of their equine medication threshold and contamination research projects. Motion passed.
Director Cline moved and Director Shanyfelt seconded a motion that a contribution of $25,000 be made from the Industry Initiative Fund to the Belterra Park Purse Account to support purses for quarter horse races run at Belterra Park in 2025. Motion passed.
President Poole moved and Director Cline seconded a motion authorizing the executive director to enter into an agreement making combined contributions of up to $57,035 for 2025 to support the Ohio Farm Bureau and the Ohio Farm Bureau Foundation supporting sponsorships and programs of those organizations. Motion passed.
Director Estvanko moved and Director Puhl seconded a motion that a contributions from the Industry Initiative Fund in the amount of $12,000 to the Racetrack Chaplaincy of America in support of a chaplain for the 2025 racing season at Belterra Park and for a total of $35,000 to the Racetrack Chaplaincy of Ohio over the 12-month period beginning in February 2025 in support of the work done by Reverend Harris at Mahoning Valley and Thistledown Racetracks to be distributed monthly at $2,916.67.
Director Puhl moved and Director Estvanko seconded a motion that the OHBPA will pay from the Industry Initiative Fund up to $250 to provide a meal for those attending the weekly services of Reverend Harris at Mahoning Valley and Thistledown race tracks upon the office receiving the receipts for the food for each of the services. Motion passed.
Director Jarvis moved and Director Carrera seconded a motion that up to $50,000 from the Industry Initiative Fund by contributed in 2025 to Second Stride with the payouts to be made as follows; $1,000 per horse taken in by Second Stride which last raced or stabled at an Ohio thoroughbred track and does not require surgery, $2,500 per horse taken in by Second Stride which last raced or stabled at an Ohio thoroughbred track and requires surgery set up through Second Stride. Motion passed.
Discussion was held regarding the next board meeting date with the board setting February 14, 2025 as the next meeting date beginning at 11am via freeconferencecal.com.
Adjournment:
President Poole moved and Director Carrera seconded a motion to adjourn. Motion passed.